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itails 
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et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


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BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR: 

Fasting  Communion 

HISTORICALLY  INVESTIGATED  FROM  THE  CAN- 
ONS AND  FATHERS,  AND  SHOWN  TO  BE 
NO  r  I'.INDING  IN  ENGLAND.  Sccomi  Edition. 
3vo,  cloth,  $5.00. 


THOMAS    VVHITTAKER, 
NEW  YORK. 


:  i*!SPl';#;'^w"' w^"'^*-"' •'  '•■'■ 


I  -i 


•    k 


M 


THE  BISHOP  PADDOCK  LECTURES,  1890. 


GOD    INCARNATE. 


riY   THE 


RIGHT  REV.  HOLLINGWORTH  TULLY  KINGDON,  D.D., 

BISHOP  COADJUTOR  OF  FREUKRICTO.V,  NKW  BRU.VSUICK,  CANADA. 


NEW  YORK : 
THOMAS     WHITTAKER, 

2  AM)  3  Rnii.ic  Horsi.;. 
1S90. 


Bf5A(jj«ori«*lt3( 


COPYRIGHT,  1890, 
Hv  THOMAS  WHITTAKER. 


BURR    PRINTING    HOUSE, 
FRANKFORT  AND  JACOB  STREETS,   NEW  YORK, 


t 


^Bfm 


THE 


BISHOP   PADDOCK   LECTURES. 


In  the  summer  of  the  year  1880,  Gkorge  A.  Jar. 
VIS,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  moved  by  his  sense  of  the 
i^reiit  i^ood  wliich  mii^ht  thereby  accrue  to  the  cause 
of  CllKisr,  and  to  the  Churcli  of  wliich  he  was  an 
ever-grateful  member,  j^ave  to  the  Gener^d  Theo- 
loi^ical  Seminary  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Churcli 
certain  securities,  exceedin«^  in  value  eleven  thousand 
dollars,  for  the  foundation  and  maintenance  of  a  Lec- 
tureship in  said  seminary. 

Out  of  love  for  a  former  pastor  and  enduring 
friend,  the  Right  Rev.  Benjamin  Henry  Paddock. 
D.D.,  Bishop  of  Massachusetts,  he  named  the  founda- 
tion "  The  Bishop  Paddock  Lectureship. " 

The  deed  ot  trust  declares  that,— 

The  subjects  of  the  lectures  shall  be  such  as  appertain  to  the  defence 
of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  revealed  in  the  Holy  Bible,  and 
illustrated  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  against  the  varying  errors 
of  the  day,  whether  materialistic,  rationalistic,  or  professedly  religious, 
and  also  to  its  defence  and  confirmation  in  respect  of  such  central 
truths  as  the  Trinity,  the  Atonement,  Justification,  and  the  Inspiration 
of  the  Word  of  God  ;  and  of  such  central  facts  as  the  Church's  Divine 
Order  and  Sacraments,  her  historical  /Reformation,  and  her  rights  and 


vi 


THE   BISHOP   PADDOCK    LECTURES. 


powers  as  a  pure  and  national  Church.  And  other  subjects  may  be 
chosen  if  unanimously  approved  by  the  Board  of  Appointment  as  being 
both  timely  and  also  within  the  true  intent  of  this  Lectureship." 

Under  the  appointment  of  the  board  created  by 
the  Trust,  the  Right  Rev.  Hollingvvorth  Tiilly  King- 
don,  D.D.,  Bishop  Coadjutor  of  Fredericton,  New 
Brunswick,  delivered  the  Lectures  for  the  year  1890, 
which  are  contained  in  this  volume. 


■-.i<«««B*'-)l«**J»'  f.>ti. 


PREFACE. 


The  conditions  ol  the  Trust  under  which  the  fol- 
lowing Lectures  were  delivered,  require  that  they 
should  be  printed.  In  no  way  is  there  any  claim  of 
originality  for  them.  Indeed,  the  only  merit  they 
may  have  is  that  they  endeavor  to  express  old  truths 
sometimes  in  modern  words,  rarely  in  new  language 

It  Will  be  objected  that  the  subject  is  too  vast  for 
treatment  in  so  small  a  space.  But  the  object  has 
been  to  stimulate  inquiry  within  the  limits  prescribed 
by  the  Trust.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that 
the  attention  of  candidates  for  Holy  Orders  should 
be  concentrated  upon  the  fundamental  doctrine  of 
the  Incarnation.  At  no  time  has  this  been  of  greater 
importance  than  at  the  present  moment. 


■I 


P. 


.# 


^m- 


CONTENTS. 


Lecture  I.— "The  Creator." 

Text.— i'.  ^o/m  i.,  1.5. 

Lectuke  II.— "The  Creature."       . 

Text. — S.  John  /.,  1-5. 

Lecture  III.— "The  Incarnation." 

Text.  — .S'.  Jo/in  t.,  14. 

Lecture  IV.—"  Perfection  of  Sympathy." 

Text.—/.  S.  John  i.,  i. 

Lecture  V.—"  The  Atonement."  . 

Text.— 6".  fohn  i.,  29. 
Lecture  VI.—"  The  Sacraments." 

Text.— 5.  John  i.,   12,  13. 


Appendix. 


PAGE 
I 


20 


43 


66 


93 


126 


Lecture  VII.-"  The  Gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost."       172 

Text. — S.John  vii.,  39. 


207 


GOD  INCARNATE. 


LECTURE   I. 


s 

'i 


TIIK   CkE.lOR. 

"  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God  and 
the  Word  was  God.  The  same  •  -^  ,  in  the  beginning  wiih  Gud.  '  All 
things  were  made  oy  Him  ;  and  without  Hia.  was  not  anything  made 
that  was  made.  In  Ilim  was  life  ;  and  .',.  life  was  the  light  of  men. 
And  the  light  shineih  ir  darkness  :  and  ihe  darkness  comprehended  it 
not.  '-St.  John  i  :  1-5. 

We  read  that  Simpliciunus,  Bishop  of  Milan,  told 
St.  Augustine  the  saying  of  a  heathe.i  phil.^sopher 
that  the  exordium  of  St.  John's  Gospel  ought  to  be 
written  up  in  letters  of  gold  in  the  most  conspicuous 
place  of  Christian  churches.     It  would  be  well  if  we 
would  even  now  follow  out  the  suggestion  of  the 
Platonist   philosopher.     Still  better  would  it   be   if 
each  Christian   would    bear   the  words   written   on 
his  heart  and  mind  ;  not  only  to  be  retained  in  the 
memory,  but  pondered  over  and  devoutly  meditated 
upon.     Without  doubt  the  words  have  been  found 
very  dear  to   many.     Of   old  many  had  them   en- 
grossed  and   illuminated  as  beautifully  as   possible 
upon  parchment,  and  then  wore  them,  as  the  Jews 


THE   CREATOR. 


of  old  wore  the  words  of  Deuteronomy  in  their 
phylacteries.  But  as  true  and  real  devotion  waned, 
this  hiibit  degenerated  into  a  superstition,  so  that 
we  read  it  was  condemned  more  than  once. 

Still,  the  inimitable  grandeur  of  the  words  com- 
pelled attention,  and  in  one  way  or  another  special 
reverence  was  paid  to  them.  In  so)ne  churches  the 
passage  was  said  at  the  end  of  the  Service  for  the 
Baptism  of  Infants,  and  again  after  Communicating 
the  dying,  and  after  Extreme  Unction.  We  are  told 
that  in  the  comparative  scarcity  of  manuscripts, 
and  it  may  be  in  the  equal  scarcity  of  power  to  read 
them,  the  laity  would  sometimes  stop  the  priest  in 
his  passage  to  the  vestry,  after  the  celebration  of  the 
Holy  Communion,  and  ask  him  to  recite  to  them 
this  Gospel.  This,  it  is  said,  led  to  the  custom  of 
reciting  it  after  the  service,  whether  it  were  specially 
asked  for  or  not.  Then,  as  the  piety  which  had  de- 
manded the  recitation  declined,  it  was  said  by  the 
priest  for  himself ;  voluntarily  at  first,  and  then  in 
some  parts  by  special  direction  of  ordinary  author- 
ity. It  is  therefore  often  found  in  manuscripts, 
written  at  the  end  of  the  service.* 

It  would  be  well  if  we  could  habituate  ourselves  to 
repeat  the  words  continually  and  meditate  upon 
them.  For  the}'  are  as  much  needed  now  as  in  St. 
John's  days.  The  errors  that  he  combated  are  con- 
tinually reappearing.  Well-meaning  persons,  from 
a  mistaken  sentimental  piety,  in  popular  story  books, 
present  an  erroneous  view  of  our  blessed  Lord's  life 
and   character,    which   is   as   much   to  be  guarded 


*  See  Appendix  A. 


THE   CREATOR. 


Lheir 

Liied, 

that 

com- 
3ecial 
2S  the 
^r  the 
:ating 
e  told 
:ripts, 
0  read 
iest  in 
of  the 
0  them 
,tom  ot 
lecially 
lad  de- 
by  the 
hen  in 
luthor- 
scripts. 


e 


elves  to 
upon 
s  in  St. 
ire  con- 
is,  from 

books, 
rd's  life 

uarded 


against  as  open  heresy.  Indeed,  more  so,  for  it  is 
more  insidious,  and  therefore  more  dangerous.  More 
and  more  the  responsibility  is  thrown  ui)()n  parents 
to  guard  their  children  from  error.  More  and  more, 
therefore,  should  they  preoccupy  their  minds  with 
the  truth  about  our  Lord  ;  and  perhaps  no  more 
certain  method  could  be  adopted  than  to  build  up 
the  child's  mind  on  a  firm  hold  of  the  truth  as  pre- 
sented in  St.  John's  writings.  Of  these  it  has  been 
said,  with  truth,  that  therein  "  agnus  ambulat, 
elephas  natat. "  The  simple  child  can  walk  at  large, 
the  man  of  ponderous  learning  is  soon  out  of  his  depth. 

It  is,  no  doubt,  one  of  the  reasons  that  so  many 
attacks  have  been  concentrated  on  St.  John's  Gospel, 
that  it  contains  the  antidote  to  most  modern  errors. 
Indeed,  we  might  almost  say  that  all  error  in  the 
Christian  religion  might  be  corrected  from  his  writ- 
ings. For  no  writings  so  forcibly  and  so  plainly  m- 
sist  upon  the  truth  of  the  Incarnation  ;  and  almost 
all,  if,  indeed,  not  all,  error  in  Christian  doctrine  is 
nearly  connected  with  erroneous  or  faulty  views  of 
the  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation.  Hence, 
if  such  views  are  to  thrive,  men  must  first  of  all  get 
rid  of  St.  John's  writings  as  being  the  great  prophy- 
lactic against  error.  But  this  is  no  easy  task,  and 
the  attacks  have  but  revealed  the  strength  of  the 
position  assailed. 

We  begin,  then,  as  St.  John  did,  from  God  Him- 
self. This  was  ever  the  plan  of  the  English  Church. 
When  her  Canons  were  codified  commencement  was 
made  from  the  doctrine  about  God.*    When,  in  the 


E.g.,  Lyndewode's  "  Provinciale." 


THE   CREATOR. 


sixteenth  century,  she  put  out  articles  about  matrers 
of  controversy  at  the  time,  she  took  care  to  place  in 
the  very  forefront  the  Articles  of  the  Catholic  Faith.* 
Herein  at  once  is  seen  her  difference  from  other  re- 
forming bodies,  Scotch  or  Continental  ;  for  all  these, 
with  scarce  an  exception,  begin  their  **  Confessions  of 
faith"  with  some  articles  of  controversial  matter.f 

The  English  folk,  too,  were  in  the  habit  of  com- 
mencing their  letters  with  the  sacred  name  ;  as  we 
read  in  Shakespeare,  "  Emmanuel  is  what  they  write 
at  the  top  of  letters  ;"  X  and  in  the  pious  letters  be- 
tween Dr.  Basire  and  his  wife,  some  eighty  years 
later,  each  begins  with  the  sacred  monogram  or 
name. 

We  begin,  then,  as  St.  John  began,  with  a  declara- 
tion of  the  Eternal  Deity  of  Him  Who  in  time 
became  Incarnate  and  was  made  man. 

Our  blessed  Lord  set  forth,  in  His  great  High- 
Priestly  prayer  at  the  mysterious  Last  Supper,  the 
two  fundamental  doctrines  of  our  Faith  :  "  This  is 
life  eternal,  to  know  Thee  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ,  Whom  Thou  hast  sent."§  Here  are 
the  two  great  cardinal  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
which  are  recapitulated  in  the  quaint  language  of 
our  poet-theologian  George  Herbert : 

"  Thou  hast  but  two  rare  cabinets  full  of  treasure. 
The  Trinity  and  Incarnation  ; 
Thou  hast  unlocked  them  both, 
And  made  them  jewels  to  betroth 
The  work  of  Thy  Creation 
Unto  Thyself  in  everlasting  pleasure. 


♦  The  XXXIX  Articles  of  1562. 

X  Second  Part  of  Henry  VI.,  act.  iv.  sc.  2. 


f  See  Appendix  B. 
§  St.  John  17:3- 


THE  CREATOR. 


itters 
Lce  in 
lith.* 
er  re- 
these, 
ons  of 

er.f 

com- 
as we 

write 
2rs  be- 

years 
am  or 

eclara- 
n   time 

High- 
)er,  the 
This  is 
)d,  and 
ere  are 
ianity, 
age  of 


'% 


"  The  statelier  cabinet  is  the  Trinity, 
Whose  sparkling  light  access  denies  ; 
Therefore  Thou  dost  not  shgw 
This  fully  to  us,  till  death  blow 
The  dust  into  our  eyes  ; 
For  by  that  powder  Thou  dost  luake  us  see. 

"  Bat  all  Thy  sweets  are  packed  up  in  the  other  ; 
Thy  mercies  thither  flock  and  flow, 
That  as  the  first  affrights, 
This  may  allure  us  with  delights. 
Because  this  box  we  know, 
For  we  have  all  of  us  just  such  another." 

Let  US,  then,  to  begin  with,  feel  well  assured  of 
this,  that  there  is  no  theory  which  satisfies  all  de- 
mands of  human  reason  as  does  the  Christian  teach- 
ing :  for  I  regard  it  more  than  theory.  It  may  be 
true,  nay,  it  is  true,  that  reason  cannot  reveal  God 
to  man  ;  man  "  cannot  by  searching  find  out  God  ;" 
he  remains  groping  about  like  one  in  the  dark  or 
like  a  blind  man  in  unfamiliar  surroundings  until  the 
true  Light  comes  to  him.  Men  "  seek  the  Lord,  it 
haply  they  may  feel  after  Him  and  find  Him,  though 
He  is  not  far  from  every  one  of  us."  *  For,  indeed, 
"  the  invisible  things  of  Him  from  the  creation  of 
the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the 
things  that  are  made,  even  His  eternal  power  and 
Godhead,  so  that  they  are  without  excuse."  f  Rea- 
son leads  us  to  the  door  of  belief ;  reason  welcomes 
us  again  after  we  have  entered  ;  but  reason  does  not 
open  the  d(K>r  or  force  us  to  enter.  That  is  left  for 
faith.  F'aith  is,  as  it  were,  the  electric  spark  which 
will  enable  us  to  combine  and  account  for  all  phe 


jpendix  B. 
in  17  •  3- 


Act!  17  :  27. 


f  Romans  i  :  20. 


■    -T.—I  ^ 


THE   CREATOR. 


nomena  around  us,  and  also  to  distinguish  each  color 
in  its  separate  truth  when  the  wliirl  of  thouj^ht  has 
blended  them  all  into  one.  This  is  what  St.  John 
says  :  "  We  know  that  the  Son  ol  God  is  come,  and 
hath  given  us  an  understanding,  that  wn  may  know 
Him  that  is  true."  *  The  word  here  rendered  "  un- 
derstanding" is  the  power  of  reasoning  aright,  the 
process  by  which  reason  arrives  at  a  conclusion. 
"  That  with  which  the  Son  of  God  Incarnate  has  en- 
dowed believers  is  a  power  of  understanding,  of  in- 
terpreting, of  following  out  to  their  right  issues  the 
complex  facts  of  life,  and  the  end  of  the  gift  is  that 
they  may  know,  not  by  one  decisive  act,  but  by  a 
continuous  and  progressive  apprehension.  Him  that 
is  true.  Thus  the  object  of  knowledge  is  not  ab- 
stract but  personal  ;  not  the  truth,  but  Him  of 
Whom  all  that  is  true  is  a  partial  revelation.  It  is 
evident  that  the  fact  of  the  Incarnation  vitally  wel- 
comed carries  with  it  the  power  of  believing  in  and 
seeing,  little  by  little,  the  Divine  purposes  of  life 
under  the  perplexing  riddles  of  phenomena."  f 

This  is  well  illustrated  in  the  utterances  of  those 
who,  outside  the  pale  of  Christianity,  have  been  led 
up  to  the  very  door  by  their  powers  of  reasoning. 
So  much  so  that  Christians  marvel  that  they  do  not 
enter  the  door  that  is  open  before  them. 

No  doubt  there  are  difficulties  in  the  way  of  belief. 
There  must  be  for  the  sake  of  the  faithful.  There 
would  be  no  room  for  faith  if  there  were  no  room 
for  doubt.     But  the  difficulties  which  unbelief  pro- 

*  1  St.  John   5  :  20,  with  Dr.  Westcott's  commentary  upon  the 
passage, 
f  Dr.  Westcott  in  loc. 


THE   CREATOR. 


h  color 
:^ht  has 
t.  John 
nc,  and 
y  know 
d"un- 
r\\t,  the 
:hision, 
has  en- 
^,  of  in- 
;ues  the 
t  is  that 
it  by  a 
!im  that 
not  ab- 
Mim   of 
n.     It  is 
lly  wel- 
^  in  and 
;  of  life 

't 

)f  those 

3een  led 

isoning. 

Y  do  not 

)f  belief. 

There 

no  room 

lief  pro- 

upon   the 


duces  are  by  far  the  greater,  and  there  is  no  door  of 
reverent  thought  which  true  Christianity  cannot  un- 
h)ck,  while  unbelief  often  helps  to  double  lock  them 
and  bar  them  up  effectually. 

Instinct  and  reason,  as  well  as  revelation,  testify 
to  the  Unity  of  God.     The  early  Christians  in  their 
arguments  with  tiie  heathen   make  tiiis  claim   very 
{)owerfully.     They   claim   that   whenever  a   man   is 
deeply  stirred,  and  is  therefore  less  likely  to  be  un- 
real and   on  his  guard,  he  appeals  to  God.     Tertul- 
Han,   Minucius    FeHx,  and  St.   Cyprian    all    use  the 
same  argument.     "In  the  midst  of  the  statues  and 
images  oi  the  false  gods  (cries  Tertullian-),  when  you 
are  deeply  moved,  you  appeal  not  to  them,  but  to 
God.      Wonderful  testimony  to  the  truth  !    (he  ex- 
claims) the  soul  is  by  nature  Christian"— that  is,  so 
far  as  the  Unity  of  God  is  concerned.     "  f   hear  the 
common  people,   when  they  lift  up  their  hands  to 
Heaven,  say  nothing  else  than,  O  God,  and  God  is 
great,  and  God  is  true,  and  if  God  permit.     Is  this 
the  natural  utterance  of  the  vulgar,  or  is  it  the  prayer 
of    a   confessing    Christian?      Those    who    speak  of 
Jupiter  as  the  chief  are  mistaken  in  the  name,  but 
they   are  in   agreement  about   the   Oneness   of   the 
power,  "t      And'  St.    Cyprian   argues:     "We    fre- 
quently hear  it  said,   O  God,  and  God  sees,  and   I 
commend  to  God,  and  God  give  you,  and  if  God 
will  ;  it  is,  then,  the  height  of  sinfulness  to  refuse  to 
acknowledge  Him,  Whom  you  cannot  but  know,"  ^ 


2  ;  Apolog.,  ^  17. 


*  Tertullian,  "  De  Testimonio  Anima;, 

f  Minucius  Felix,  "  Octavius,"  §  i3. 

t  St.  Cyprian,  De  Idol.  Van.  Opera.     Paris,  1726.  p.  227.     See  al 


su 


'   n^^ 


8 


THE   CREATOR. 


They  argued  from  the  natural  instinct  ot  man  ;  the 
argument  from  reason  has  also  been  urged  from  the 
first.  It  was  this  which  made  St.  Paul  tell  the  Ro- 
mans that  the  heathen  were  without  excuse,  since 
there  is  an  objective  Epiphany  of  God  to  man,  and 
a  subjective,  receptive  capacity  on  man's  i)art  to  un- 
derstand the  Epiphany.  "  For  the  invisible  things 
of  God,  Mis  eternal  power  and  divinity,  from  the 
creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  under- 
stood by  the  things  that  are  made."  This,  too,  is 
practically  acknowledged  by  modern  philosophers 
who  are  outside  the  Christian  flock.  One  such  (Mr. 
Herbert  Spencer)  has  said  that  "  the  objects  and 
actions  surrounding  us,  not  less  than  the  phenomena 
of  our  consciousness,  compel  us  to  ask  a  cause.  In 
our  search  we  discover  no  resting-place  until  we 
arrive  at  the  hypothesis  of  a  First  Cause.  We  have 
no  alternative  but  to  regard  this  as  infinite  and  abso- 
lute."  *  Here,  however,  we  must  introduce  a  warn- 
ing, for  to  some  minds  "  the  idea  of  absolute,  infinite 
being  seems  to  preclude  relations,  to  be  incompati- 
ble with  creation  in  space  and  time.  This  difficulty 
will,  I  think,  so  far  as  it  is  not  inherent  in  our  nature, 
be  found  to  disappear  if  we  remember  that  the 
Divine  Being  is  not  Infinite  in  the  sense  of  being 
unlimited,  unconditioned,  but  in  the  sense  of  not 
being  limited  or  conditioned  by  anything  other  than 


Professor  Rawlinson's  "  Early  Pievalence  of  Monotheistic  Belief," 
R.  T.  S. ,  and  Mr.  Renouf,  Hibbert  Lectures  on  the  Religion  of 
Egypi. 

*  Quoted  by  Canon  McColl,  "  Christianity  in  Relation  to  Science 
and  Morals,"  p.  lo. 


an  ;  the 
rom  the 

the  Ro- 
^e,  since 
lan,  and 
-t  to  un- 
e  things 
rom  the 
•  under- 
;,  too,  is 
)sophers 
ich  (Mr. 
3Cts  and 
;nomena 
use.  In 
mtil  we 
A'^e  have 
nd  abso- 

a  warn- 
,  infinite 
:ompati- 
lifficulty 
:■  nature, 
:hat  the 
ji  being- 
;  of  not 
lier  than 


ic  Belief," 
Religion  of 

to  Science 


THE   CREATOR.  9 

Himself.     God  is  not  unconditioned,  but  self-condi- 
tioned, self-limited."* 

Each  man  is  certain  that  he  exists  ;  he  knows  that 
he  does  not  exist  of  himself,  but  of  some  other  being, 
who  again,  it  may  be,  exists  of  some  other,  until  we 
come  to  a  first  Being,  Who  is  of  Himself.  In  such 
an  argument  there  can  be  no  infinity,  for  a  posterior 
cause  cannot  be  granted  unless  a  prior,  and  ulti- 
mately, a  first  be  granted  also.f 

Moreover,  we  cannot  conceive  of  there  being 
more  than  one,  for  then  there  would  be  antagonism, 
which  must  issue  in  the  sole  pre-eminence  of  one. 
Or  if  not,  neither  could  be  God,  for  neither  would 
be  perfect  ;  the  perfection  of  one  being  by  so  much 
the  defect  of  the  other. 

Then,  again,  man  considered  as  a  reasoning  being 
has  two  great  tendencies.  One  is  dependence  upoH 
the  unseen.  In  the  lower  animals  we  find  proof  that 
instinct  warns  them  against  real  dangers  external  to 
themselves,  and  not  against  such  as  are  imaginary  and 
within  themselves.  Is  man  alone  of  animals  to  be 
said  to  depend  upon  an  unreal  phantom  ? 

The  other  tendency  of  man  is  to  aim  at  an  ideal 
excellence  which  is  not  in  himself,  which  he  is  con- 
stantly pursuing  but  never  attaining.  This  is  not 
merely  an  intellectual  excellence,  but  a  moral  excel- 
lence. This  universal  longing  would  imply  the  ex- 
istence of  something  perfect  in  beauty,  in  knowledge, 
in  power,  in  holiness,  without  which  the  yearning 
cannot  be  satisfied.     Reason,  then,  would  lead  us  to 


»  •« 


p.  4. 


The  Christian  Doctrine  of  the  Godhead,"  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Hicks, 


f  Bishop  Forbes  on  the  Articles,  vol.  i.,  p.  2. 


10 


TIIK   Ckl'ATOR. 


believe  that  there  is  One  Supreme  iJein^^  absolutely 
perfeet  in  all  respects. 

But  without  (juestion  this  greiit  truth  which  com- 
mends itself  t(j  instinct  and  reason  takes  a  much 
lirnier  hold  on  the  mind  ol  man  when  explicitly  de- 
clared by  Revelation.  The  philoso[)her  John  Stuart 
Mill  (who  was  broui^ht  up  as  an  Atiieist  from  his 
earliest  childhood)  has  acknowledi^'ed  that  there 
seemed  to  him  no  antecedent  imj)rol)al)ility  in  a 
revelation  from  a  Supreme  Beiui^-.  ll'c-  may  indeed 
believe  that  there  is  a  very  <^reat  pnjbabilitv  in  such 
a  messas^e  beinj;'  sent.  If  instinct  and  reason  lead  us 
to  believe  in  a  First  Cause,  it  would  be  hard  to  con- 
ceive of  Him  as  havini^:  so  little  reijard  for  that 
which  He  had  called  into  beini;  as  not  t(;  send  a 
messaire  to  it.  In  the  Revelation  which  we  claim  to 
have,  which  we  have  from  God," there  is  nothing  so 
much  insisted  on  as  the  unity  of  God.  This  is  the 
one  great  strain  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  text 
that  all  faithful  Jews  \\'ere  bound  to  recite  twice  a 
day  at  least,  began,  "  Hear,  O  Israel,  the  Lord  thy 
God  is  one  Lord."  Ft  was  the  continual  refrain  of 
the  argument  against  the  idols  and  polytheism  of  the 
Assyrian  heathen,  as  given  by  Isaiah,  "  Is  there  any 
God  beside  Me  ?  Yea,  there  is  no  God,  1  know  not 
any."  He  is  one  and  inichangeable,  "  with  Whom 
there  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turning." 

The  same  philosopher  before  quoted  (Mr.  Herbert 
Spencer)  says  again  :  "It  is  absolutely  certain  ihat 
we  are  in  the  presence  of  an  infinite,  eternal  energy, 
from  which  all  things  proceed  ;"  and  yet  there  was 
w^anting  to  him  the  spark  of  faith  (it  may  be)  to  en- 
able him  to  go  one  step  further.     For  energy  with- 


THE  CREATOR. 


I  I 


out  mind  and  will  to  guide  it  must  be  destructive 
and  not  orderly.  This  we  are  taui^ht  each  day  of 
our  lives.  It  is  a  daily  lesson  which  we  shmild  do 
well  to  con  and  ai)|)ly.  Ener«(y  is  a  i;ood  servant, 
but  a  bad  master.  What  are  the  <4reatest  forces  in 
nature  known  to  us  ?  May  we  not  say  steam,  gas, 
electricity  ?  The  mind  and  will  of  man  imprison 
them  and  make  them  his  useful  slaves.  If  tliey  are 
undirected  they  are  destructive.  Steam  uncon- 
trolled or  misdirected  will  destroy  life  and  rend 
iron.  When  tamed  and  guided,  it  is  a  galley-slave 
of  the  greatest  service.  I  have  seen  a  huge  traction 
engine  winding  its  way  through  the  tortuous  and 
narrow  streets  of  Old  London,  guided  by  one  man 
at  a  small  wheel.  Gas  in  sudden  formation  or  ex- 
plosion is  most  destructive  ;  but  it  is  enchased  to 
give  us  light  and  to  strike  down  our  venison.  Elec- 
tricity left  to  itself  acts  blindly  and  destructively  ;  but 
the  mind  and  will  of  man  lay  hold  of  it,  imprison 
it,  store  it  up,  and  light  his  house  and  streets  with 
it,  make  it  his  beast  of  burden,  and  compel  it  to 
carry  his  messages  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  All  this 
teaches  us,  if  we  have  eyes  to  see,  and  ears  to  hear, 
and  hearts  to  understand,  that  the  presence  of  law 
and  ordci-  in  connection  with  energy  implies  the 
presence  ot  mind  and  will  to  maintain  the  same. 
The  presence  of  law  and  order  in  creation  around 
us  necessitates  the  presence  of  mind  and  will  acting 
with  that  energy,  the  presence  of  which  Mr.  Her- 
bert Spencer  says  is  absolutely  certain. 

Now  mind  and   will   imply   personality.*      Then 

*  See  Appendix  C,  where  another  argument  in  favor  of  personality 
of  the  First  Cause  is  given. 


'M! 


12 


THE   CREATOR. 


advancing^  one  step  further,  we  would  say,  as  has 
been  maintained,  that  personality  implies  social 
capacities  ;*  for  we  naturally  associate  capacity  for 
social  intercourse  with  our  idea  of  person.  "  The 
word  would  be  robbed  of  much  that  it  now  connotes 
if  we  were  to  apply  it  to  a  bein^  incapable  of  receiv- 
ing or  imparting  either  thought  or  feeling."  This 
will  lead  us  one  step  further  to  be  assured  that  in  a 
Perfect  Being  social  capacities  imply  the  means  of 
gratifying  them.  The  crowning  revelation,  there- 
fore, is  that  "  God  is  Love." 

Now  we  cannot  conceive  of  love  without  an  ob- 
ject. Love  would  not  then  be  love,  it  would  only 
be  the  capacity  for  love.  Love  would  not  be  love 
without  exercise.  We  therefore  could  not  conceive 
that  God  is  love  if  He  were  a  solitary  Unit,  to  speak 
with  deepest  reverence.  "  In  an  age  which  is  be- 
coming metaphysical  in  spite  of  itself  and  its  ante- 
cedents, men  are  driven  to  the  conviction  that  God 
cannot  be  what  religion  requires  Him  to  be — a  self- 
conscious  Being — and,  at  the  same  time,  what  the 
Unitarian  makes  Him — an  undifferentiated  Unit,  an 
absolute  One."  f 

Hence,  we  may  say  once  more  that  reason  is  Chris- 
tian in  demanding  that  God  be  eternally  a  Father, 
eternally  produced  toward  Himself,  with  a  Son 
Who  is  "  the  Brightness  of  His  glory  and  the  ex- 
press Image  of  His  Person." 

The  heathen  Greeks,  two  thousand  years  ago,  had 
arrived  at  what  some  regard  now  as  a  new  discovery, 
that  "  an  absolute  unit  is  unthinkable  ;"  but  Chris- 

*  See  McColl,  "  Christianity  in  Relation  to  Science,"  p.  13, 
f  Aubrey  Moore,  "  Science  and  the  Faith,"  p.  160. 


I  I 


IH    ! 


THE   CREATOR. 


13 


tianity  was  the  first  to  solve  the  problem.*  It  was 
not  that  they  set  out  to  solve  it,  but  starting;  with 
the  historic  fact  of  the  Resurrection,  with  the  doc- 
trinal truth  of  the  Deity  of  Him  Who  rose  again, 
they  found  to  hand  an  answer  to  the  difficulties 
which  had  been  felt  by  unilluminated  reason.  "  The 
F'athers  do  not  treat  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  in 
Unity  merely  as  a  revealed  mystery,  still  less  as 
somethini^  which  complicates  the  simple  teaching  of 
Monotheism,  but  as  the  condition  of  rationally  hold- 
ing the  Unity  of  God." 

"  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word 
was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God. "  The  Word 
was  with  God.  The  original  expression  denotes 
activity  toward — "  The  Word  was  toward  God." 
It  implies  distinction  of  person.  Hence  we  may  not 
suppose  that  God  is  a  Father  only  in  name,  in  so  far 
as  He  is  tiie  Prime  Origin  of  all  ;  that  tlie  titles 
"  Father,  Son,  Spirit"  imply  no  more  than  various 
attitudes  or  relations  of  one  and  the  same  Person 
toward  the  creation  He  called  into  existence.  So 
false  an  idea  as  this  (invented  by  Sabellius  to  explain 
away  the  truth)  would  imply  that  God  was  not  a 
Father  until  the  world  or  universe  was  called  into 
being  ;  that  therefore  there  was  no  Word  or  Son 
previous  to  creation.  But,  saith  the  apostle,  not 
only  was  the  Word  in  the  beginning,  before  the 
creature  was,  but  "  in  the  beginning  with,  or  toward, 
God  ;"  the  Sabellian  notion  being  thus  excluded. 
The  Word  is  not  only,  as  it  were,  outward,  but  (to 
speak  with  deepest  awe  and  reverence)  eternally  in- 


See  Appendix  D. 


•4 


THE   CREATOR. 


ward  toward  (lod.  llis  Face  ever  toward  the  Face 
of  His  ]^>.crnal  I'atlier.  And  lest  man  should  con- 
ceive of  Iliinas  of  one  outside  the  Divine  I^ifc,  ol 
lower  nature  than  that  of  Ilim  Who  is  the  I'atlier. 
the  apostle  adds  at  once,  "  and  the  Word  was  Ood." 

Here  for  one  moment  we  would  leave  the  text,  to 
remind  ourselves  that  the  doctrine  of  the  I'^ternal 
Spirit  as  a  Bond  between  the  two  Persons  of  the 
Father  and  tiie  Son  is  fully  in  accordance  with 
Reason,  whicli  rerpiires  that  lie  should  be  at  once  a 
Person,  and  er[ual  with  both  Father  and  Son,  else 
He  would  not  perfectly  interpret  the  One  to  the 
Other.  Therefore  another  apostle,  St.  i^iul,  saith, 
"  The  S[)irit  searcheth  all  thinj^s,  even  the  deej^ 
things  of  God.  For  who  knoweth  the  things  of  a 
man  save  the  spirit  of  man  which  is  in  him  ?  So  the 
things  of  God  none  hath  known,  save  the  Spirit  of 
God."  The  Holy  Spirit  of  God  (the  apostle  seems 
to  say  under  inspiration)  is  the  ultimate  conscious- 
ness of  God,  whereby  He  knows  Himself.  None 
but  God  could  search  the  depths  of  God.  His 
search  alone  would  not  be  baffled.  As  St.  Augus- 
tine points  out.  He  is,  as  it  were,  the  Love  whereby 
the  Father  and  the  Son  are  united  ;  hence,  some  have 
spoken  of  Him  w'ith  deepest  reverence,  be  it  said, 
as  "  Osculum  Patris  et  Filii." 

Thus  in  the  Oneness  of  God  there  exists  a  Trinity 
of  Persons.  In  the  Old  Testament,  though  the  One- 
ness was  more  insisted  upon,  yet  there  are  words 
and  passages  which  we  can  see  now  contained  the 
teaching  of  Plurality  of  Persons.  The  utterance, 
"  Let  us  make  man  in  Our  image,"  is  at  once  fol- 
lowed   bv  the  words,  "  so   God  made  man  in  His 


lii^^ 


TIIK    CUl'ATOU. 


ic  Face 
Id  con- 
r>ifc,  f>t 
I'\itlicr. 

(iod.' 
text,  to 
I'^tcrnal 

of  the 
;c  with 
;  once  a 
on,  else 

to  the 
I,  saith, 
e  deeji 
iifs  of  a 

So  the 
spirit  of 
e  seems 
iscious- 
None 
ti.  His 
Augus- 

hereby 
ne  have 

it  said, 

Trinity 
le  One- 
words 
ned  the 
;erance, 
nee  fol- 
in  His 


own  inuiL,^'."  Then,  again,  "  Man  is  become  as  one 
of  us,"  "  let  IS  go  down  ;"*  all  imply  plurality  of 
eciiial  Persons.  Wliile,  again,  the  blessing  which  is 
"  putting  (lod's  Name  ui)on"  the  |)eople  is  so  clear 
a  teaching  of  the  Christian  doctriue  of  the  Trinity, 
tliat  it  is  ready  at  once  to  pass  into  what  is  called 
the  Apostolic  blessing.  I''or  in  the  set  form  of  bene- 
diction given  by  God  to  Moses,  the  great  incom- 
numicable  Name  of  God  is  uttered  three  times,  as 
the  small  capitals  in  the  IJibleof  the  Ivnglish  Church 
will  remind  us,  "The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  keep 
thee  ;  the  LoRh  make  His  l\ice  to  shine  upon  thee, 
and  be  gracious  unto  thee;  the  Lord  lift  up  His 
countenance  upon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace."  f  If 
we  take  the  form  and  order  in  which  the  Christian 
blessing  occurs  in  the  Liturgy  of  St.  James  (so  called), 
we  shall  at  once  see  that  it  is  the  Christian  version  of 
the  ancient  Hebrew  benediction  recited  to  Moses, 
"  The  love  of  the  Lord  and  h'ather,  the  grace  of  the 
Lord  and  Son,  the  fellosvshii)  and  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  be  with  us  all  "  It  is  the  Love  of  God  the 
Father  that  blesses  and  keeps  ;  the  glory  of  (iod  seen 
in  the  I'\ice  of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ  is  gracious  (for 
£^rac'c  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ)  ;  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  Holy  Ghost  brings  the  communion  of 
peace,  the  third  fruit  of  the  Spirit. 

The  Trinity  of  Persons  was  not  so  clearly  revealed 
in  the  Old  Testament  ;  partly,  it  may  be,  because 
there  was  ever  present  the  error  of  polytheism  and 
idolatry,  which  was  very  seductive  ;  but  mainly 
because  it  was  not  necessary   nor   indeed   easy   of 


Genesis  i  ;  26,  27  ;  3  :  22  ;  ii  :  7.         +  Numbers  6  :  23,  24,  25. 


!1 


i6 


THE   CREATOR. 


I 


II    I 


comprehension  until  the  Incarnation  of  God  the 
Son.  Now  it  is  different.  St.  John,  as  we  have 
seen,  tells  us,  "  VVe  know  that  the  Son  of  God  is  come, 
and  hath  given  us  an  understanding  ;  that  we  may 
know  Him  that  is  true  ;  and  we  are  in  Him  that  is 
true,  even  in  His  Son  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  the  true 
God  and  Eternal  life." 

When  we  have  once  accepted  the  great  funda- 
mental doctrine  of  the  Trinity  we  are  prepared  to 
receive  the  doctrine  of  Creation.  For  the  mystery 
of  Creation  is  only  excelled  by  the  mystery  of  the 
Nature  of  God.  For  even  the  deep  mystery  of  the 
Incarnation  seems  somewhat  less  (if  possible)  than 
the  myster}'  of  Creation.  For  (with  reverence  be 
it  said)  the  mystery  of  the  Union  of  the  Creatur  with 
the  existing  creature  would  seem  less  than  the 
mystery  of  calling  the  creature  into  existence.  St. 
John  then  goes  on,  "  All  things  were  made  by  Him, 
and  apart  from  Him  was  not  anything  made  that 
was  made."  God  is  no  sterile  and  motionless  unit. 
The  Eternal  Son  is  "  the  beginning  of  the  Creation 
of  God  ;"  not  as  being  Himself  the  first  created,  but 
as  being  the  principle  on  which  creation  depend.  * 

Here,  however,  early  errors  would  lead  us  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  creative  word  spoken  and  the 
Creator  Word  speaking.  St.  Clement,  of  Alexan- 
dria, is  very  earnest  in  warning  against  any  suppo- 
sition that  the  Word  by  Whom  all  things  were  made 
was  that  of  the  Psalmist,  "  He  spake  the  Word,  and 
they  were  made  ;"  since  He  is  the  Word  that  speaks 
the  creative  utterance. 


*  See  Appendix  F. 


'■^^ 


THE   CREATOR. 


17 


iod  the 
v'c  have 
is  come, 
we  may 
n  that  is 
the  true 

t  funda- 
^jared  to 
mystery 
•y  of  the 
y  of  the 
3le)  than 
rence  be 
itur  with 
than   the 
nee.     St. 
by  Him, 
ade  that 
ess  unit. 
Creation 
ited,  but 
epend.  * 
IS  to  dis- 
and  the 
Alexan- 
y  suppo- 
ere  made 
Vord,  and 
at  speaks 


God  the  Son,  God  the  Word,  is  the  Mediator 
whereby  God  creates.  This  was  depicted  of  old  in 
the  beautiful  laui^uagc  of  the  eighth  chapter  of  the 
Hook  of  Proverbs,  "  The  Lord  possessed  Me  in  the 
bcirinninir  of  His  way.  .  .  I  was  set  up  from  everlast- 
inir.  from  the  beirinninc:,  or  ever  the  earth  was. 
W'lien  there  were  no  depths,  I  was  brought  forth  ; 
when  there  were  n(^  fountains  abounding  with  water. 
Before  tiie  mountains  were  settled,  before  the  hills 
was  I  l)r()ught  forth  ;  while  as  yet  He  had  not  made 
the  earth,  nor  the  helds,  nor  the  highest  part  of  the 
dust  of  the  world. "  Thus  far  before  the  hat  of  crea- 
tion had  gone  forth,  while  as  yet  it  only  existed  in  the 
eternal  purpose  of  God.  But  the  record  goes  on  : 
"  When  He  prepared  the  Heavens,  I  was  there  ; 
when  He  set  a  circle  on  the  face  of  the  deep  ;  when 
He  established  the  clouds  above  ;  when  He  strength- 
ened the  fountains  of  the  deep  ;  when  He  gave 
the  sea  His  decree,  that  the  waters  should  not  pass 
His  commandment  ;  wlien  He  appointed  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth  ;  then  I  was  by  Him,  as  One 
brought  up  with  Him  ;  and  I  was  daily  His  delight, 
rejoicing  always  before  Him  ;  rejoicing  in  the  habi- 
table i)arts  of  His  earth  ;  and  My  delights  were  with 
the  sons  of  men." 

That  which  here  is  adumbrated  in  poetic  beauty 
is  asserted  continually  in  the  New  Testament.  The 
Father  indeed  is  the  Prime  Source  and  Origin  of  all 
created  being,  as  He  is  of  the  Godhead  ;  but  the 
Son  is  the  Mediatorial  Agent  of  creation.  "  By 
Him  (or  rather,  through  Him)  all  things,  regarded 
severally  (as  the  Greek  intimates),  were  made." 
"  In  Him  were  all  things  (regarded  collectively,  the 
2 


1 1 


18 


THE   CREATOR. 


t    J 


universe)  created."  These  two  statements  of  two 
Apostles  supplement  each  the  other.  It  was  (as  the 
writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  again  says) 
"  by  the  wSon  that  God  made  the  worlds."  "  There 
is  One  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  through  Whom  are  all 
things,  and  we  through  Him."  Then  with  these 
statements  we  can  understand  the  inspired  sayings 
of  the  i)salms.  "  By  the  Word  of  the  Lord  were 
the  Heavens  made."  "  He  by  His  excellent  Wis- 
dom  made  the  Heavens." 

But  God  the  Son  is  not  only  the  Mediator  in  crea- 
tion, He  is  also  the  Revealer  in  illumination.  "  That 
which  hath  been  made  in  Him  is  Life  ;  and  the  life 
was  the  light  of  men,"  as  a  class,  not  only  as  of  indi- 
viduals. St.  Clement,  of  Alexandria,  pointed  out 
seventeen  hundred  years  ago  that  in  all  philosophy, 
in  all  wisdom  of  men,  there  is  seen  some  truth,  even 
in  the  wildest  flights  of  fancy  among  the  heathen  ; 
but  every  si)arkle  of  truth  is  a  reflection  from  the 
One  true  Light  that  lighteth  every  man  coming  into 
the  world.  As  Archbishop  Theophylact  said  many 
years  after,  "  He  saith  not  the  light  of  the  Jews 
only,  but  of  all  men  ;  for  all  of  us  in  so  far  as  we 
have  received  intellect  and  reason  from  that  Word 
which  created  us  are  said  to  be  illuminated  by 
Hitn.""  When,  therefore,  the  heathen  acknowl- 
edged, "  We  are  His  offspring,"  it  was  a  sparkle  of 
truth  which  could  be  claimed  as  a  witness  to  Him 
Who  is  the  Truth. 

But  He  Who  had  revealed  truth  in  parts,  as  men 
were  able  to  bear  it,  "  Who  in  many  portions  and 
in  many  methods  had  spoken  of  old,"  He  in  these 

*  Theophylact  in  loc.  Opera  Veneliis,  1754,  p.  510. 


THE   CREATOR. 


19 


of  twr> 
5  (as  the 
in  says) 
"There 
I  are  all 
th  these 

sayings 
)rd  were 
Dnt   VVis- 

r  in  crea- 
"That 
d  the  life 
is  of  indi- 
intcd  out 
ilosophy, 
uth,  even 
heathen  ; 
from  the 
ming  into 
,aid  many 
the  Jews 
far  as  we 
lat  Word 
nated   by 
acknowl- 
sparkle  of 
s  to  Him 

s,  as  men 
-tions  and 
e  in  these 

510. 


last  days,  li.c  latter  times,  the  last  dispensation,  has 
come  Himself,  the  Perfect  Revealcr,  to  mankind  ar.d 
the  creation  at  large.  For  "the  Word  was  made 
Flesh,  anfl  dwelt  among  us,  tabernacled  in  our  na- 
ture," and  is  now  the  intimate  means  of  union,  the  one 
comj>lctc  Mcfliator  between  God  and  His  creation. 

Here.  then.  1  would  humbly  make  my  own  the 
words  of  a  very  great  man.  "  Dangerous  it  were 
for  the  feeble  brain  of  man  to  wade  far  into  the 
d(;ings  of  the  Most  Migh,  W^hom  althougli  to  know 
be  life  and  joy  to  make  mention  of  His  Name,  yet 
•  jur  soundest  knowledge  is  to  know  that  we  know 
Him  not  as  indeed  He  is,  neither  can  know  Him  ; 
and  our  safest  eloquence  concerning  Him  is  our 
silence,  ^vhen  we  confess  without  confession  that 
His  glory  is  inexplicable,  his  greatness  above  our 
caj^acity  and  reach.  He  is  above  and  we  upon  earth  ; 
therefore  it  behoveth  our  words  to  be  wary  and 
few."'-^  Ah,  brethren,  our  subject  is  vast  and  un- 
fathomable I  Let  us.  His  unworth}-  creatures,  on 
whom  He  has  lavished  the  fulness  of  His  boundless 
love,  not  be  of  those  who  receive  Him  not.  Let  us 
welcome  Him  with  our  whole  nature,  body,  soul, 
and  spirit.  He  is  now  drawing  us  with  the  cords  of 
a  man,  for  He  is  man  as  we  are.  "  Draw  us  (cry 
the  clect»,  we  will  run  after  Thee  !*'t  The  nearer 
the  iron  is  to  the  magnet  the  more  it  hastens  to  meet 
and  join  it.  The  nearer  we  approach  (however  un- 
worthily* to  Ood,  the  greater  the  attraction.  Let 
us  yield  ourselves  to  Him,  the  Incarnate  Saviour, 
and  He  will  in  no  wise  cast  us  out. 


*  Hooker,  "  Ecclesiastical  Polity,"  Book  I.,  chap,  ii.,    J^  2. 
f  Canticles  i  :  4. 


1 
w 


LECTURE   II. 

THE   CREATURE. 

"  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  ihe  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God.  The  same  was  in  the  beginning  with  God.  All 
things  were  made  by  Him  ;  and  without  Him  was  not  anything  madi. 
that  was  made.  In  Him  was  life  ;  and  the  life  was  the  lig'.  if  men. 
And  the  light  shineth  in  darkness  ;  and  the  darkness  comprehended 
it  not."— St.  John  i  :  1-5. 

Next  to  the  mystery  of  the  Godhead  is  the  mys- 
tery of  Creation.  Here,  again,  reason,  given  to  us 
by  God,  may  help  us  somewhat  on  the  way,  though 
not  very  far.  Scientific  investigators  have  argued 
from  what  they  call  "  degradation  of  energy,"  that 
the  universe  will  come  to  an  end  ;  and  from  this  they 
have  argued  that  that  which  has  an  end  must  have 
had  a  beginning  ;  that  therefore  the  universe  must 
have  had  a  beginning.  The  argument  may  be  profit- 
able to  some,  but  it  does  not  help  a  believer  very 
much.  It  may  be  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  and 
as  such  we  would  welcome  it.  But  science  cannot 
tell  us  about  the  act  of  creation,  for  still  the  question 
would  be  asked,  "  Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  ?" 

But,  as  a  rule,  scientific  men  are  content  to  ac- 
knowledge that  of  the  beginning  of  the  universe  they 
know  nothing  at  all.  It  is  the  same  with  the  ques- 
tion of  life.     Some  years  ago  a  friend  of  mine  in  Old 


THE   CREATURE. 


21 


h  God,  and 
God.  AD 
ihing  madv. 
;'.  if  men. 
iiprehended 


the  mys- 
en  to  VIS 
,  though 
argued 
^•y,"  that 
this  they 
ust  have 
rse  must 
je  profit- 
ver  very 
ion,  and 
e  cannot 
question 
laid  the 

11  to  ac- 
2rse  they 
he  ques- 
■le  in  Old 


London  asked  a  learned  scientific  lecturer-  a  ques- 
tion which  baftlcd  him.  Lectures  had  been  given  to 
workingmen,  and  the  lecturer  kindly  invited  ques- 
tions from  his  audience,  professing  himself  willing 
to  answer  them  as  well  as  he  could.  Now  my  friend, 
a  coach  painter,  had  been  attending  the  lectures  with 
irreat  interest.  He  had  read  himself  into  unbelief, 
and  by  God's  grace  had  recovered  faith,  but  still  he 
loved  all  scientific  inquiry,  as  a  Christian  may  and 
should.  In  answer,  then,  to  the  invitation  of  the 
lecturer  my  friend  wrote  the  following  :  "  Vou  have 
most  learnedly  told  us  about  matter  apart  from  life, 
and  matter  in  connection  with  life  ;  w-ill  you  kindly 
tell  us  what  life  is  apart  from  matter?"  It  was  a 
pertinent  and  a  logical  question,  but  no  answer  could 
lie  given  by  science.  The  lecturer  commenced  his 
next  lecture  by  saying  that  one  of  his  audience  had 
tisked  him  a  question  which  he  must  have  known 
could  not  be  answered,  and  that  was  all.  When  one 
of  the  great  teachers  of  science.  President  of  the 
British  Association,  proposed  the  theory  that  the 
first  germ  of  life  was  brought  to  this  planet  by  a 
fragment  of  an  exploded  worid,  he  made  a  sugges- 
tion which  would  have  been  laughed  to  scorn  if 
made  by  a  less  eminent  man  ;  for  it  would  not  help 
us  at  all  to  find  out  how  life  commenced  on  the 
exploded  globe. 

But  where  science  must  fail,  here  revelation  steps 
in.  There  seems  good  reason  to  think  that  the 
words  in  the  text  should  run  thus,  *'  That  which 
hath  been  made  was  life  in  Him. "    A  difficult  phrase, 

*  If  my  memory  is  right,  the  lecturer  was  Professor  Huxley. 


22 


THE  CREATURE. 


but  full  of  beautiful  meaning'.  The  thought  seems  to 
be  carried  back  far  beyond  the  time  when  creation 
became  a  fact,  and  was  only  a  purpose  or  idea  pres- 
ent to  the  mind  of  the  Creator.  There  is  the  double 
aspect— one  in  relation  to  man,  the  other  in  relation 
to  God.  In  relation  to  man,  there  are  the  j)resent 
phenomena,  "  that  which  hath  been  made  ;"  in  rela- 
tion to  God,  "  they  were."  There  is  a  similar  con- 
trast in  the  Book  of  Revelation  where  the  hymn  of 
the  four  and  twenty  elders  ex|jresses  the  same  double 
as{)ect  :  "  Thou  art  worthy,  ()  Lord,  to  receive 
glor}',  and  honor,  and  powder  ;  for  Thou  hast  created 
all  things,  and  for  Thy  pleasure  they  were,  and  were 
created."  We  may  sa}',  therefore,  that  while  it  is 
true  that  the  creature  is  not  eternal  (it  would  not  be 
a  creature  if  it  were),  yet  we  cannot  separate  it  from 
the  eternal  purpose  of  the  Divine  mind.  While  it  is 
true  that  at  the  first  beat  of  time  the  creature  sprang 
into  existence,  and  so  was  made  or  created,  yet  we 
believe  that  its  existence  was  eternally  present  to 
the  mind  of  God  "  That  which  hath  been  made 
was  life  in  Him." 

God  the  Son  was  the  Creative  Agent  of  God. 
"  That  which  [in  time]  hath  been  made  was  [in  eter- 
nity] life  in  Him."  It  was  failure  to  see  this  great 
truth,  which  was  one  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  the  Arians,  or  which  they  alleged  as  a  reason  for 
thinking  that  the  Divine  Son  was  Himself  a  Crea- 
ture. They  argued  that  creatures  as  such  were  too 
feeble  to  endure  the  force  of  the  Father's  creating- 
power.  Therefore  a  Mediator  was  necessary  to 
break   the    impact.      But    St.    Athanasius"    rightly 

*  Orat.  II.,  c.  Aiianos,  §  26  ;  Opera  Patavii,  1777,  Tom.  i.,  p.  390. 


1  :    : 


u. 


THE  CRKATURE. 


-.■» 


seems  to 
I  creation 
dea  pres- 
le  double 
1  relation 
L3  ])resent 
"  in  lela- 
nilar  con- 
!  hymn  ol 
ne  double 
)  receive 
^t  created 
and  were 
diile  it  is 
lid  not  be 
te  it  from 
Vhile  it  is 
re  sprang 
d,  yet  we 
resent  to 
een  made 

of  God. 
IS  fin  eter- 
this  great 
I  the  way 
reason  for 
If  a  Crea- 

were  too 
5  creating 
essary  to 
;""    rightly 

m.  i.,  p.  39°- 


ridiculed  this,  arguing  that  if  the  force  were  indeed 
so  great  that  no  creature  could  endure  it,  then  if  the 
Son  were  a  creature,  He  could  not  be  created  bv 
the  Father  Himself,  and  another  Mediator  would  be 
necessary,  and  so  on  ad  infinituui.    Their  argument 
was,  indeed,  as  great  a  folly  as  the  suggestion  of  life 
travelling  hitherward  on  an  aerolite  speeding  from 
an  explosion.     The  Son  Himself  is  the  One  Mediator 
between  God  and  the  Creature,  which  from  all  eter- 
nity "  was  life  in  Him."     To  the  Christian  there  can 
be  no  antagonism  between  Christianity  and  Science. 
When  Science  has  established  a  fact,  the  Christian 
can  see  in  it  the  act  of  God  ;  in  the  meantime  the 
Christian    may,  indeed,  be  on   the   mountain-top  of 
faith,  lifting  up  hands  and  eyes  to  Heaven,  in  sure 
and  certain  hope  that  the  Israel  of  God  will,  nav, 
must  ultimately  prevail  while  Amalek  fights  below. 
If  the  Book  of  Science  be  true,  or  rather  be  inter- 
preted aright,  it  will  be  found  to  agree  with  other 
books  of  God,  when  interpreted  aright.     Professor 
Owen   spoke  well   when,  after  having  lectured  on 
the  lesson  to  be  learned  from  a  striking  geoloirical 
specimen  which  he  held  in  his  hand,  he  could  say 
solemnly,  "  The  Word  of  God  written  by  the  finger 
of  God  on  tables  of  stone."    Where  for  a  time  there 
seems  to  be  antagonism,  the  error  is  really  in  the 
interpreter,  whether  of  the  facts  of  nature,  on  the 
one  hand,  or  the  Bible,  on  the  other.     For  we  must 
not  take  for  granted  that  the  popular  or  commonly 
received  interpretation  is  always  and  necessarily  the 
true,  or  only  true  meaning  of  the  fact  or  the  pas- 
sage.    There   are    unquestionably    large    tracts    of 
Truth  still  to  be  discovered,  Natural  and  Revealed  ; 


1 


24 


THE   CREATURE. 


M 


and  the  truth  discovered  in  Nature  by  Science  will 
shed  much  light  on  so)ne  difficult  passaj^e  of  wScrip- 
ture.  When  the  law  of  gravitation  was  discovered 
it  was  seen  to  throw  marvellous  light  on  the  saying 
of  holy  Job,  "  He  hangeth  the  earth  upon  nothing." 

The  creature,  then,  was  in  the  eternal  purpose  of 
God,  and  yet  it  was  not  developed  fully  all  at  once. 
We  seem  to  read  that  before  the  visible  universe 
was  created  there  was  called  into  being  a  veritable 
host  of  creatures,  whom  man  caimot  sec  until  his 
spiritual  perception  has  been  cleared  and  trained 
for  the  purpose.  Holy  ^Scripture  implies  that  these 
glorious  beings  were  called  into  existence  before  the 
visible,  tangible,  material  creation.  While,  perhaps, 
we  may  not  ascribe  to  poetry  the  solid  character  of 
historic  narration,  yet  poetry  would  be  meaningless 
without  some  phenomenal  groundwork.  It  is  im- 
possible to  paint  a  cloud,  and  if  it  be  illuminated  by 
reflected  light,  the  colors  of  that  light  must  have  had 
an  uncpicstionable  existence.  There  is  much,  then, 
to  be  learned  from  the  passage  in  Job  where  we  are 
told  that  the  angels  hymned  the  creative  act  of  call- 
ing the  material  universe  into  existence.  "  Where- 
upon are  the  foundations  of  the  earth  fastened  ?  or 
W^ho  hath  laid  the  corner-stone  thereof,  when  the 
morning  stars  sang  together  and  all  the  Sons  of  God 
shouted  for  joy  ?' '  - 

It  is  quite  true  that  many  have  thought  that  the 
angels  were  created  within  the  six  days  of  creation 
in  Genesis,  and  the  rabbis  have  gone  a  step  further, 
and  asserted  that  they  were  created  on  the  fifth  day. 


Job  38  :  7. 


A 


'•'s*? 


m 


THE   CRFATURE. 


25 


nee  will 
{  Scrip- 
covered 
e  saying 
)tbing." 
rpose  of 
at  once, 
universe 
^^eri  table 
until  his 
I  trained 
lat  these 
cfore  the 
perhaps, 
racter  of 
aningless 
It  is  im- 
natcd  by 
have  had 
ch,  then, 
e  we  are 
t  of  call- 
'  Where- 

ned  ?  or 
vhen  the 

s  of  God 

that  the 
creation 
further, 
ifth  day. 


They  came  to  this  conclusion  from  observinjj:  that  a 
certain  Hebrew  form  occurs  twice  only  in  the  Old 
Testament,  once  in  Genesis  i  :  20,  "  fowl  that  maj' 
J/f,"  and  once  in  Isaiah  6:  2,  "with  twain  he  did 
fiy.''  This,  they  say,  shows  that  the  anj^elic  beinijjs 
seen  by  Isaiah  were  created  at  the  same  time  as  the 
winged  fowl.  But  Scripture  rather  points  to  their 
having  preceded  the  creation  of  the  world  of  matter, 
but  by  what  interval  we  know  not.  We  may,  per- 
haps, see  a  record  of  their  creation  in  the  first  words 
of  Genesis,  "  In  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heavens  ;"  for  Heaven  is  their  "  local  habitation." 

Here,  too,  curiously  enough,  some  scientific  men 
have  come  to  the  same  conclusion.  It  has  been 
argued  that  the  present  maintenance  of  the  seen  uni- 
verse could  not  abide  without  the  continual  activity 
and  interference  of  an  unseen  universe  to  keep  order, 
if  we  may  say  so.  If  there  is  any  foundation  for 
this,  it  would  argue  that  the  existence  of  the  unseen 
agency  would  precede  the  seen  universe. 

Attention  must  be  drawn  to  a  distinction  between 
the  living  agents  of  the  invisible  world  and  those  of 
the  material  creation.  Of  the  angels,  we  know  that 
"  they  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage." 
There  seems  to  have  been  uttered  over  them  no 
benediction  of  multiplying.  It  has  been  tliought, 
therefore,  that  their  creation  involved  a  certain 
definite  number  of  individuals,  in  full  adult  com- 
pleteness and  perfection,  each  individual  angel 
being  called  into  existence  by  a  separate  creative 
act  of  Almighty  God.  No  one  angel  receives  from 
another  any  portion  of  his  being  ;  each  was  created 
separate,  distinct,  and  perfect  in  himself.    So  that 


26 


THE   CREATURE. 


1  ;    M  .  I 


81 


:!!! 


!:    ^      il 


from  the  moment  of  his  creation  each  had  a  beinjj^ 
distinct  and  independent  of  all  save  his  Creator. 
Each  liad  eternal  youth.  Therefore,  when  one  is  de- 
scribed in  {Scripture  as  appearing  to  man,  in  order 
to  meet  our  comprehension,  the  an_<;el  is  sj)oken  of 
as  a  younj^  man.  Hence,  too,  angels  are  called  sons 
of  God,  as  Adam  is  by  St.  Luke,  because  each  one 
owes  his  existence  to  God  alone. 

There  is,  then,  no  common  angelic  nature.  The 
nature  of  each  is  peculiar  to  himself,  and  is  derived 
neither  from  any  save  God  Himself,  nor  to  any  other 
afterward.  Nor  need  we  be  deterred  from  this 
thought  by  the  text  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
"  He  took  not  on  Him  the  nature  of  angels."  "••'  For 
there  in  our  Bibles,  if  they  are  properly  printed,  we 
shall  see  at  once  tliat  the  word  nature  is  not  in  the 
original,  because  of  the  variation  in  printing.  It  is 
"  Of  angels  He  took  not  hold."  Indeed,  from  this 
might  be  argued  that  the  passage  is  in  favor  of  the 
opinion  here  expressed,  for  the  word  "  angels"  is  in 
the  plural.  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  written 
in  a  style  of  Greek  which  had  much  afifinity  to 
Hebrew  idiom.  One  Hebrew  peculiarity  was  that 
when  the  writer  did  not  care  to  particularize  any 
one  of  several  similar  things,  the  word  was  put  in 
the  plural.  Thus  when  Jephthah  died,  the  historian 
did  not  care  to  mention  specially  the  exact  spot  of 
his  entombment,  and  he  said  "  he  was  buried  in  the 
cities  of  Gilead,"  f  whereas  the  burial  could  not 
have  been  in  more  than  one.  This  ma}'  account  for 
the  expression  here,  "  He  took  not  angels."    There 


*  Hebrews  2  :  i6. 


f  Judges  12  :  7, 


THE   CUKATUUi:. 


27 


was  no  comnir)!!  ans^clic  nature  ;  there  vv[is  no  an<j^clic 
reproduction,  therefore  had  lie  "  taken  anj^els," 
lie  would  have  taken  this  or  that  paiticuhir  angel, 
and  not  angehc  nature.  Tliis  will  also  account  for 
the  peculiarity  of  the  expression  which  speaks  of  the 
Incarnation,  "lie  took  the  Sird  o[  Abraham;"  He 
took  the  particii)ation  of  man's  nature  from  its  very 
conmiencement. 

Of  each  anjj^el,  then,  we  may  believe  there  is  a 
separate  nature,  similar  to,  but  not  the  same  as 
that  of  his  fellows.  Inasmuch  as  they  are  subject  to 
the  laws  of  time  and  space  we  must  think  that  they 
have  some  material  form,  however  rare  or  subtle  the 
quality.  They  are  called  spirits,  yet  we  need  not 
think  that  this  excludes  all  idea  of  materialism.  God 
alone  is  Spirit  alone.  Therefore  the  saving  of  our 
blessed  Lord  should  probably  be  translated  "  God  is 
Spirit,""  and  not  a  Spirit,  as  if  one  of  a  class.  He 
alone  does  not  admit  of  circumscription.  He  is  immcn- 
SNS,  "  incomprehensible" — that  is,  cannot  be  included 
in  space.  But  the  angels  are  circumscribed.  They 
are  subject  to  limitations  of  time  and  space.  This  is 
seen  in  the  account  of  Gabriel  bringing  the  answer 
to  Daniel's  prayer.  "  The  man  Gabriel,  being 
caused  to  fly  swiftly."  "  At  the  beginning  of  thy 
supplication  the  commandment  came  forth,  and  I 
am  come."f  They  ascend  and  descend.:};  Hence 
to  their  personal  existence  there  must  be  some  dis- 
tinguishing limit,  some  boundary,  envelop,  integu- 
ment, or  covering,  of  however  infinitesimal  rarity, 


*  St.  John  4  :  24. 

X  Genesis  28  :  12  ;  St.  John  i  :  51. 


f  Daniel,  9  :  21,  23 


28 


THE   CUKATUKK 


however  transcendent  the  tenuity.  In  tlie  Book  of 
tlie  Revelation  we  read  of  their  apjjearini;  clothed 
in  various  ways,  wiiich  of  itself  would  ijuply  this. 
Some  have  made  merry  with  the  Revised  X'ersion, 
which  re[)resents  seven  an<(els  clothed  in  stone."* 
Yet  if  this  be  the  true  readini^  of  the  passa<j^e  (which 
we  are  not  athrming-),  there  need  be  no  reason  for 
doubtinj^  the  })Ossibility  any  more  than  we  can  doubt 
that — which  each  one  of  us  })robably  can  vouch  for — 
that  each  blade  of  tender  grass  is  clothed  in  flint,  in 
silex.  This  clothing  of  itself  would  imply  a  super- 
ficial limit  to  the  body  of  the  angel. 

Of  their  number  we  know  nothing,  save  that 
"  more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels"  were  attend- 
ant on  the  will  of  the  Incarnate  Lord.f  There  are 
also  hosts,  and  camps,  and  orders  oi  them  ;  not  iso- 
lated, but  marshalled  and  orderly  comi)anies,  as  is 
implied  by  St.  Paul  and  St.  Peter.  It  is  true  that 
St.  Paul  adopts  the  names  in  common  parlance 
among  his  opponents  at  Cfjlossae,  in  order  to  exalt 
the  Lord  far  above  all  ;  but  at  least  we  know  of 
Angels  and  Archangels,  Cherubim  and  Seraphim. 

Of  these  blessed  si)irits  we  learn  there  is  a  double 
ministry,  one  toward  God,  one  on  God's  behalf 
toward  man.  "  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spir- 
its ?"  asks  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
— that  is,  ministering  in  the  service  of  God,  in  the 
sanctuary  of  Heaven?  Therefore  we  say  in  the 
Eucharistic  service,  **  With  angels,  and  archangels 
and  all  the  company  of  Heaven  we  laud  and  magnify 
Thy  glorious  Name."     But  not  only  so,  they  are 


*  Revelation  15  :  6. 


f  St.  Matthew  26  :  53. 


'^ 


Tin:   CUKATURE. 


^9 


Ji)()k  of 
:U)tlic(l 
y  tliis. 
crsion, 
stone* 
(which 
son  for 
1  doubt 
h  for— 
Hint,  in 
.  supcr- 

vc   that 
attcncl- 
icrc  are 
not  iso- 
's,  as  is 
uc  that 
arlance 
to  exalt 
vnow  of 
him. 
double 
behalf 
't^  spir- 
e  brews 
in  the 
in    the 
langels 
nagnify 
ley  are 


also  "  scut  forth  to  do  service  to  thcni  that  are  heirs 
of  salvation."  *  I  leuce  we  hud  that  llicv  have  special 
offices  in  connection  with  man.  It  lias  been  thou<;ht 
that  each  man  has  a  guardian  angel,  and  our  blessed 
Lord's  saving  about  the  angels  of  tiie  little  children 
certainly  bears  out  this  impression.  Indeed,  nations 
are  said  to  have  their  angels  ;  we  read  of  the 
"  Princes"  of  Greece  and  Persia, f  while  the  special 
guardian  of  the  chosen  people  of  (rod  is  Michael, 
"  who  is  like  unto  God,"  while  Gabriel  is  the  special 
messenger  of  mercy  and  love. 

We  are,  therefore,  prepared  to  learn  that  around 
and  about  the  Last  Adam,  the  Incarnate  I>ord,  the 
second  head  and  recapitulation  of  the  human  race, 
the  angels  were  continually  ministering. 

With  the  angels,  then,  there  can  l)e  no  question  of 
evolution,  no  selection,  if  there  be  in  the  ranks  of 
the  blessed  a  survival  of  the  fittest. 

But  for  the  next  stage  in  Creation  there  seems  to 
have  been  introduced  a  different  order.  And  here, 
as  we  deal  with  visible  and  tangible  matter,  human 
reason,  given  to  us  by  God,  will  help  us,  it  may  be, 
to  read  the  history,  though  in  this  case  we  have  to 
read  the  history  backward.  But  we  must  always 
remember  that  our  knowledge  is  still  in  a  state  of 
transition,  is  far  from  complete,  far  from  perfect  ; 
and  sometimes  what  is  confidently  asserted  one  day 
by  a  man  of  science  is  as  confidently  exploded  the 
next  by  some  further  discovery.  It  may,  therefore, 
very  well  happen  that  while  there  is  complete  har- 
mony between  Scripture  and  the  facts  which  have 


26  :  53. 


*  Hebrews  i  :  14. 


f  Daniel  10  :  13,  20,  2i. 


■i    I'll 


m 


I    ': 


!l 


I    * 


30  tup:  creatuke. 

been  observed,  yet  (bscord  may  be  feared  or  siis- 
pecteci,  beeause  tlie  lanj^uajj^e  is  misconstrued  or  the 
tacts  misinterjireted.  No  one  now  sii)  poses  that 
Revehitioii  is  affected  by  tlie  l^nowled^e  tliat  tliC 
earth  revolves  a!)out  tlie  sun  and  is  not  the  hxed 
centre  of  the  universe.  WHien  the  verse  "  He  hath 
made  the  round  w(n-ld  so  fast  that  it  cannot  be 
moved"  was  examined,  it  was  found  that  the  He- 
brew for  "  moved  "  really  meant  "  totter,"  and  was 
used  of  s/ippiiii^  footste[)S  (I'salms  17:5;  94  :  18, 
etc.).  The  word,  tiierefore,  accuratelv  describes  the 
ecjuable  and  smooth  movement  of  the  world  for 
man}'  thousand  3ears. 

Fourteen  hundred  years  ago  and  more  St.  Augus- 
tine i^whom  Dr.  Tusey  called  "  the  greatest  mind  in 
Christendom")  saw  that  there  was  more  latent  under 
the  bare  letter  ol  the  account  of  the  creation  in  Gen- 
esis than  was  generally  acknowledged  ;  and,  indeed, 
lie  has  been  thought  to  give  utteranc j  to  "a  view 
which,  without  anv  violence  to  language,  we  may 
call  a  theory  of  evolution."  •'■  After  him  the  great- 
est mind  in  medi;eval  times,  St.  Thomas  of  .\ciuinuni, 
"  if  he  did  not  adopt  St.  Augustine's  view,  at  all 
events  recognized  it  as  tenable."  It  cannot,  there- 
fore, be  said  that  such  views  are  inconsistent  with 
Christianity.  We  are  in  no  w-av  committed  by  the 
Faith  to  the  theory  of  what  is  called  "  special  crea- 
tion," which  seems  to  have  been  adopted  in  the 
seventeenth  century  and  to  have  been  maintained 
since.  That  is,  men  have  thought  for  two  centuries 
and  a  half  that  plants  and  animals  have  continued  as 


Aubrey  L.  Moore,  "Science  and  the  Failh,"  p.  176. 


TIIK   CRKATUKE. 


31 


Gcn- 
\tlecd, 

view 
c  may 

;rcat- 
liiuini, 

at  all 

thcM-e- 
:  with 
l)y  the 
1  crea- 

m  the 
itainctl 
nturics 
uiecl  as 


\vc  sec  them  from  tlie  moment  of  the  creative  fiat  ; 
tliat  no  variation  luis  since  i)een  j)()ssii)]e.  Wliercas 
so  close  an  approximation  is  seen  in  one  loiin  of 
animal  life  to  another  ;  such  a  unity  of  design  is  re- 
vealed by  comparative  anatomy  ;  there  is  such  j)o\ver 
in  man  to  improve  plants  and  animals  by  selection  of 
stock,  that  modern  science  has  adopttd  a  theory  which 
is  directly  o[)posed  to  that  of  "  special  creation."  It 
is  sui;"f^ested  that  the  only  way  to  account  for  the 
various  phenomena,  which  cannot  here  be  more  than 
hinted  at,  is  to  maintain  that  all  animal  life  has  been 
sclf-devel()i)ed  from  a  very  small  be<^innini;  ;  that 
just  as  now  a  full-grown  man  is  _sj^radually  developed 
by  growth  |)roperly  nourished  from  a  very  small 
germ,  so  the  whole  race  of  animids  have  been  grad- 
ually developed  from  a  similar  nucleus.  Ihis  is 
called  "  Evolution." 

There  are  uiKjuestionably  difficulties  in  the  way, 
which  may  be  cleared  up  or  not.  It  is  true  that 
man  by  careful  selection  may  im{)r()ve  plants  and 
animals  and  introduce  such  new  varieties  that  man 
has  been  called  in  a  subordinate  sense  a  creator, 
liut  tiierc  is  this  peculiarity  to  be  observed,  that 
these  })lants  and  animals  left  to  themselves,  without 
man's  select»')n  and  is()lati(jn  and  care,  in  a  short 
time  n  er.  i.)  their  original  form  and  character. 
I  licre  i  a  reversion  to  type.  For  example,  botanists 
say  tha'.  the  rose  is  not  indigenous  to  New  Bruns- 
wick, a  Ki  where  found  growing  „  nd  it  has  escaped 
Irom  c  dtivation.  In  these  cases  the  rose  is  no 
longer  the  beauty  that  would  take  a  prize,  it  is  a 
single  flower,  or  what  we  she  uld  call  a  dogrosc. 
rigeon  fanciers  have  b)  selection  and  isolation  pro- 


i      Jl 


I    i 


I  4 


J 


m\ 


n 


*  ■  I 'i    ■     ' 


32 


THE   CREATURE. 


■|i|i 


'!,'  i 


:ii!J.! 


ir:  I 


duced  very  many  varieties  of  their  favorite  birds, 
but  it  is  found  that  if  all  the  varieties  are  left  to  their 
own  "  natural  selection"  in  a  short  time  their  off- 
spring all  revert  to  the  one  common  blue  rock  type. 
Other  instances  of  a  similar  character  are  well 
known,  but  these  must  suffice. 

At  the  same  time,  though  there  are  at  present 
difficulties,  yet  the  general  tendency  is  to  accn^t  the 
theory  of  Evolution  as  the  best  solvent  of  all  the 
phenomena  which  present  themselves. 

Then  arises  the  question,  If  this  theory  of  Evolu- 
tion be  generally  taken  to  be  true  in  the  main,  is  it 
contrary  to  the  Truth  of  Revelation  ?  To  thl?  ^  an- 
swer at  once,  it  cannot  be  ;  and  then,  secoiifily,  li  is 
not.  For  where  Evolution  fails  to  account  lor  c  ;r- 
tain  phenomena,  there  Revelation  steps  ir  to  help 
out  the  record.  Evolution  does  not  profes.s  or  pre- 
tend to  tell  us  about  the  prime  origin  of  thi.^gs.  I^ 
all  known  forms  of  animal  and  vegetable  life  couUi 
l)e  traced  back  to  a  protoplasmic  germ  or  speck,  or 
to  primeval"  fire  mist,"  Evolution  can  go  no  further  ; 
it  cannot  tell  where  the  protoplasm  came  from  or 
whence  the  tire  mist  was  developed.  Evolution  can- 
not account  for  the  self-consciousness  of  man  or  for 
that,  which  cannot  be  denied,  that  man  alone  of  ani- 
mals is  found  to  be  deliberately  choosing  what  he- 
knows  to  be  for  his  hurt.  In  all  this  Revelation 
steps  in  and  tells  us  what  science,  with  its  dissectxng 
knife  or  microscope  or  balance,  cannot  discover. 

*'  All  things  were  made  by  Him,  and  apart  Trom 
Him  was  made  not  one  thing."  "  In  the  beginning 
God  created  the  Heavens  and  the  earth."  The 
Heavens  were  peopled  with  the  subtle  beings,  the 


I 


THE   CREATURE. 


33 


I!  I 


volu- 

.  is  it 

^  ap- 

-,  i\  is 

r  c  ;v- 
help 

r  pre- 

-s.     If 

coulfi 
or 
her  ; 

)m  or 
can- 

or  for 
f  ani- 
at  he 
ation 
ctwij; 
;r. 
Ironi 
nning 
The 
^s,  the 


anj^els,  and  the  material  earth  was  also  to  be  peopled. 
When  the  earth  was  prepared  for  life,  lite  was  com- 
municated by  the  intervention  of  the  Creator,  as  it 
would  seem — that  is,  it  would  seem  as  if  the  com- 
munication of  life  were  direct  from  God,  a  new  step 
or  staj^^e  in  creii'tion. 

It  is  true  th?.t  some  men  of  science  (like  Sir  W. 
Thomson,  who  would  bring  life  to  the  world  from 
an  exploded  planet)  would  say,*  "  I  am  ready  to 
adopt  as  an  article  ot  scientific  faith,  true  through 
all  space  and  through  all  time,  that  life  proceeds 
from  Hfc,  and  nothing  but  life."  But  we  must  pro- 
test against  scientific  dogmatism  and  decline  to  allow 
this  as  an  ultimate  proclamation  of  Science.  If 
Science  ever  can  bridge  over  the  present  gulf  be- 
tween inorganic  and  organic  matter,  between  the 
living  and  the  not  living,  we  must  decline  to  hear 
that  there  is  a  fresh  contradiction  divscovercd  be- 
tween Revelation  and  Science.  The  contradiction 
may  be  to  a  previous  dogma  of  Science,  to  the  dog- 
matic utterance  of  a  Drummond  or  a  Thomson,  and 
not  to  the  simple  grandeur,  the  glorious  simplicity 
of  the  record  of  Moses. 

Holy  .Scripture  then  tells  us  that  the  world  of 
nutter  was  created  by  God.  This  Science  can 
neither  deny  nor  affirm  ;  it  is  beyond  her  sphere 
altogether. 

Next,  Scripture  tells  us  that  life  on  the  earth,  the 
organic  kingdom,  the  world  of  plants  and  animals, 
began  by  what  we  may  reverently  call  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  created  matter  with  the  creative  energy 


yuoicd  io  McColl,  "  Christianity  in  Relation  to  Science,"  p.  15. 


'i  t' 


1'l 


1'  P! ' 


il;i' 


i 


': 


'  ^U     I'M'  . 

m  m 


I 


1  f 

! 
t 

:       1 

1 

34 


THE   CREATURE. 


of  God  the  Creator.  Science  tells  of  the  commence- 
ment of  organic  life,  and  at  present  fails  to  tell  us 
anything  of  its  origin.  Scripture  and  Science  point 
to  the  gradual  advance  toward  the  formation  of  man. 
There  is  an  ascending  scale  of  organism,  advancing 
from  general  to  the  special,  ever  making  more  close 
approximations  to  man,  until  at  length  man  was 
called  into  being,  the  end,  the  object,  the  climax  of 
all.  There  is  no  contradiction  thus  far  between  the 
two  records. 

Science  demands  extension  of  time,  she  points  to 
the  •  idpncc  of  vast  growth  of  vegetation,  as  seen 
in  the  ^  ,:  measures;  she  points  to  the  tool  marks 
of  the  giUv^icJ  period,  to  many  other  signs  of  length- 
ened periods,  and  we  grant  it.  The  word  "  day"  in 
Scripture  is  not  confined  to  what  we  call  twenty- 
four  hours.  If  we  acknowledge  that  "  one  day  is 
with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand 
years  as  one  day,"  we  gladly  extend  this  to  a  million 
years  (as  we  count  years)  or  as  much  longer  as 
Science  can  wish.  The  chief  matter  concerned  is 
not  the  periad,  but  the  WORK.  Both  records 
would  teach  orderly  process,  orderly  progress  ; 
Scripture  teaches  the  ever-present  care  of  the  Crea- 
tor. As  far  as  this  is  concerned,  it  is  not  important 
whether  the  work  be  instantaneous  or  gradual.  The 
survey  of  God's  work,  as  seen  in  the  world  around 
us  now  and  in  history,  would  lead  us  to  believe 
that  all  God's  work  is  gradual  and,  if  you  will,  slow. 
"  My  Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work."  Im- 
patient man,  whose  whole  life  is  but  a  moment,  is 
ever  in  a  hurry  ;  he  "  slanders  the  footsteps  of  the 
Messiah  ;"  he  says,  "  Where  is  the  promise  of  His 


THE  CREATURE. 


35 


coming?"  But  God's  dealings  are  from  eternity  ; 
there  is  no  evidence  of  suddenness  about  any  of  His 
works.  Paticns  quia  (utcrnus.  He  works  when  the 
fuhiess  of  the  time  has  come. 

It  was  then  by  the  co-operation  of  the  powers 
given  to  Nature,  with  the  active  energy  of  the  Giver 
of  these  powers,  that  the  organic  kingdom  was  pro- 
duced. God  said,  "  Let  the  eartli  bring  forth," 
"  Let  the  waters  bring  forth  abundantly,"  "  I^et  the 
waters  be  gathered  together,"  and  thus  God  created. 

It  is  no  doubt  a  grander  v'ew  of  the  power  of  the 
Creator,  that  a  license  ot  self  develoi)nicnt  should 
be  communicated  to  the  living  creatures.  Of  all  it 
might  be  said,  "  Whose  seed  is  in  itself."  Herein 
was  the  great  distinction  between  this  creation  and 
that  of  the  angels.  They  had  (so  we  seem  to  be 
told)  a  perfect  nature  each  one  from  the  first  ;  they 
had  no  growth,  no  development,  no  increase.  But 
over  this  new  creation  it  was  said,  "  Be  fruitful  and 
multipl}'."  And  over  an  extension  of  time,  in  a 
gradually'  ascending  series,  organic  life  developed 
until  the  time  of  the  Creation  of  Man  was  readied. 

Indeed,  we  see  transacted  daily  among  us  in  the  in- 
dividual in  an  abbreviated  form,  that  which  was  (as 
seems  probable)  enacted  in  the  history  of  the  organic 
kingdom.  Young  are  born  into  the  world,  and  by  a 
daily  and  hourly  blessing,  which  would  be  recognized 
as  creative  were  it  not  so  common  among  us,  the  im- 
mature being  grows.  The  seeds  of  vegetables,  the 
dormant  powers  of  vegetable  life,  torpid  in  the  winter, 
put  forth  their  living  power  when  the  spring  or  a 
suitable  time  comes,  and  the  young  rootlets  assimilate 
to  themselves  from  earth,  air,  and  water  the  matter 


ii' 


V 

n 


1:^ 


i      liliil  liiil'M 


i.l 

1  kv-\ 


il,!  ::    1^ 


■'yl  ,1 


i 

1  i 

!     1 

:        i 

1 

ii  ; 

■ 

i 

1 

1 

! 

:    1 

36 


THE   CREATURE. 


which  the  plant  requires,  and  it  groivs.  Day  by 
day,  by  a  miraculous  act  of  creative  power,  which 
we  call  digestion  and  then  think  little  of  it,  we  as- 
similate such  portions  as  we  require  of  the  dead 
matter  from  animal  and  vegetable  substances  which 
we  take  in,  and  we  grozv  or  repair  the  waste  of  life. 

But  when  "  the  fulness  of  the  time"  had  come  and 
the  earth  was  prepared  for  man,  then  man  was 
made. 

Here,  then,  at  once  we  perceive  a  vast  difference 
in  the  mode  of  creation.  Science  has  to  recognize 
the  difference,  and  can  tell  us  nothing  about  the 
oris^^in  of  it.  But  Scripture  lays  great  stress  on  the 
n.atter  from  more  points  than  one. 

First,  there  seems  to  be  a  consultation  about  the 
Ci  \ati  1  of  man  between  the  Persons  of  the  God- 
head. This  is  but  to  reveal  to  us  the  transcendent 
importance  of  this  step.  "  Let  us  make  man  in 
Our  Image,  after  Our  Likeness."  This  is  the 
secret  of  the  difference  between  man  and  the  ani- 
mals. The  whole  process  is  given  in  an  abbreviated 
form  in  Genesis  2:7,  '*  The  Lord  God  formed 
man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  intt) 
his  nostrils  the  breath  of  lives  ;  and  man  became  a 
living  soul."  This  seems  to  sum  up  the  double 
process  of  Evolution,  so  called,  and  the  Divine  Inter- 
vention. When  man  was  formed  of  the  dust  of  the 
ground  from  which  he  was  taken,  then  God  inter- 
vened as  at  a  fresh  epoch  in  creation  and  gave  him 
a  special  and  peculiar  glory.  "  He  breathed  into 
His  nostrils  the  breath  of  lives  ;"  and  man  had 
herein  conveyed  to  him  the  intellectual  capacity  of 
self  consciousness,  whereby  he  became  like  unto  his 


y  by 
^hich 
re  as- 
dead 
vhich 
f  life, 
e  and 
I  was 

;rencc 
)gnizc 
it  the 
on  the 

»ut  the 
God- 
ndent 
lian   in 
is    the 
le  ani- 
jviated 
ormecl 
d  into 
came  a 
double 
;  Inter- 
t  of  the 
:1  inter- 
ve  him 
ed  inti> 
an   had 
acity  of 
mto  his 


THE   CREATURE. 


37 


Creator.     "  So  God  created  man  in  His  own  image, 
in  the  image  ot  God  created  He  him." 

There  is  also  another  remarkable  passage,  which 
seems  to  teach  us  again  the  immense  gulf  raised  by 
this  intervention  between  man  and  his  compeers,  the 
animals  that  went  before  him.  '  Out  of  the  ground 
the  Lord  God  formed  every  beast  of  the  field,  and 
every  fowl  of  the  air,  and  brought  them  unto  Adam 
to  see  what  he  would  call  them.  And  whatsoever 
Adam  called  every  living  creature,  that  was  the 
name  thereof.  And  Adam  gave  names  to  all  cattle, 
and  to  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  to  every  beast  of  the 
field  :  but  for  Adam  there  ivas  not  found  a  help  meet  for 
him.'"  *  That  is  to  say,  there  was  a  great  gulf  fixed 
lietween  the  man  and  all  his  congeners  who  had 
l)repared  the  way  for  him  and  had  culminated  in 
liim  as  the  cHmax  of  their  development.  They  were 
all  paraded  before  him,  to  point  out  to  him  and 
to  his  descendants  the  immense  difference  between 
man  and  the  other  animals,  caused  by  the  transcen- 
dent love  and  mercy  of  God  in  "  breathing  into  his 
nostrils  the  breath  of  lives."  Here  has  been  seen 
the  double  gift  not  only  of  the  soul  and  of  the  intel- 
lectual spirit,  aye,  but  also,  as  the  Christian  Fathers 
have  believed,  the  adventitious  gift  of  the  indwelling 
of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Shame  upon  man  who  uses 
the  excellent  endowment  granted  him  by  God  to 
endeavor  to  dishonor  Him  who  gave  it ! 

Man,  therefore,  by  the  constitution  of  his  nature 
is  a  microcosm,  a  little  world,  partaking  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  whole  universe  of  created  things.     He 

*  Genesis  2  :  19,  20. 


f 

■  ■ 

i  1 1 


^.  fill 


'•  li « 


i;  1= 


III  .* 


38 


THE   CREATURE. 


li  " 


nil  I  i 


is  the  apex,  the  culmination  of  all  that  went  before, 
and  the  commencement  of  a  nesv  epoch.  In  his 
body  he  has  affinity  with  the  lower  subjects  of  the 
organic  kingdom,  the  animal  and  the  vegetable 
world,  and  also,  together  with  them,  with  the  inor- 
ganic kingdom  through  the  dust  of  the  earth  from 
which  he  \vas  taken.  On  the  left  hand,  then,  he 
holds  on  to  the  visible  material  creation  ;  but  on  the 
right  he  has  participation  in  the  spiiitual  nature  of 
the  angels — "  the  spirit  of  man  goeth  upward.  '  ■• 
He  is  a  recapitulation  of  both  great  branches  of  crea- 
tion, the  angelic  or  spiritual  and  the  material. 

It  is  very  important  that  we  should  recognize  this, 
and  the  extreme  importance  must  be  seen  in  the* 
next  lecture,  succeeding  the  })resent. 

But  there  is  one  startling  phenomenon  which  Sci- 
ence must  recognize,  though  it  cannot  account  for  it 
from  its  own  tests  and  measures.  It  has  been  well 
described  thus  :  "  The  history  alike  of  moral  science 
and  religions  bears  testimony  to  the  existence  of  a 
struggle,  an  antagonism,  a  disorder  in  human  nature, 
and  to  a  belief  that  this  disorder  is  not  natural  to 
man,  and  could  not  have  been  meant  by  God.  Side 
by  side  with  all  that  Science  teaches  us  of  the  evolu- 
tion of  man  at  the  first  from  lower  forms  of  life,  and 
all  that  history  tells  us  of  the  progress  of  man  since, 
in  civilization  and  knowledge,  we  see  the  fact  of  sin 
casting  its  shadow  upon  human  history  and  holding 
man  back  from  his  full  development.  This  is  the 
fact  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  all  religions,  and  which 
moral  systems  universally   recognize,   though  they 


■^ 
'$ 


^11' 


I 


THE   CREATURE. 


39 


can  neither  explain  nor  remove  it.  And  Science  has 
taught  us  that  we  must  be  true  to  facts."*  Here, 
again,  then,  we  have  to  look  to  Revelation  to  help  us 
to  the  cause  of  this  blight  and  hindrance. 

It  pleased  Almighty  God  that  among  His  crea- 
tures those  that  were  intelligent  agents  should  for  a 
while  be  placed  upon  their  probation.  We  may 
understand  this  by  the  gift  of  Reason,  with  which 
God  has  endowed  us.  We  may  say  tliat  such  a 
state  of  probation  is  inseparable  from  freedom  of 
will.  It  has  been  said  that  either  virtue  or  moral 
goodness  is  impossible,  or  that  evil  or  deviation 
from  virtue  is  possible.  Moral  goodness  implies 
freedom  of  choice,  which  again  would  ordinarily 
imply  the  possibility  of  making  a  wrong  choice. 
The  creature,  who  by  the  gift  of  his  Creator  is  an 
intelligent  agent,  must,  then,  have  the  opportunity 
of  showing  that  his  will  is  attuned  to  and  in  accord 
with  God's  will.  We  may  say  with  deepest  rever- 
ence that  as  it  pleased  the  Creator  to  call  into  exist- 
ence beings  that  could  give  Him  willing  and  free 
service,  could  reflect,  however  unworthily,  some 
rays  of  that  unstinted  flow  of  love  which  He  poured 
upon  them,  it  was  congruous  with  His  design,  nay, 
almost  necessary  (certainly  necessary  because  He 
willed  it  should  be  so),  that  there  should  be  a  possi- 
bility of  declining  such  service,  and  so  of  espousing 
evil,  the  deviation  from,  and  opposition  to  God's 
will. 

It  was  so  in  the  case  of  the  angels.  We  know  that 
many  of  these,  of  several  orders  or  ranks,   turned 


I 


;i 

t 

■ 

!  ■ 

.'!■ 

( ■' 

'* 

h 

« 

^'' 

f^i 

*  Aubrey   Moore. 


f 


iti;^ 


i    • 


Li:;! 


,  :!i 


40 


THE   CREATURE. 


iiway  their  wills  from  God  and  became  evil.  One 
there  was  of  excellent  beauty  and  intellect,  who 
seems  to  have  headed  the  revolt,  who  is  thencefor- 
ward named  Satan,  the  enemy.  St.  Paul  seems  to 
tell  us  that  pride  was  the  immediate  cause  of  his  de- 
fection ;  but  the  Lord  tells  us  in  general  terms  that 
"  he  stood  not  in  the  Truth."  It  is  clear  from  this 
that  he  was  once  "in  the  Truth"  and  fell  there- 
from. St.  Jude  tells  us  that  "  they  kept  not  their 
first  estate,  but  left  their  own  habitation,"  and 
the  prophets  tell  us  of  his  fall  ;  "  How  art  thou 
fallen  from  Heaven,  O  Lucifer,  son  of  the  morn- 
ing !"  The  prophet  Ezekiel,  in  his  denunciation  of 
Tyre,  seems  to  speak  of  the  great  origmator  of  pride. 
"  Thou  sealest  up  the  sum,*  full  of  wisdom  and  per- 
fect in  beauty.  Thou  hast  been  in  Eden,  the  garden 
of  God.  .  .  .  Thou  art  the  anointed  cherub  that  cov- 
ereth.  Thou  wast  perfect  in  thy  ways  from  the  day 
thou  wast  created  until  iniquity  was  found  in  thee, 
therefore  I  will  cast  thee  as  profane  out  of  the  moun- 
tain of  God."  The  Lord  also,  in  words  of  compre- 
hensive reach,  speaks  of  the  actual  and  moral  fall  of 
the  rebel,  "  I  beheld  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from 
Heaven,"  or  rather,  "  I  was  all  along  beholding  him 
fall."    In  the  other  passage  in  which  the  Lord  refers 


*  Ezekiel  28  :  12.  There  are  two  renderings  here,  that  of  the  Author- 
ized Version  and  that  of  the  Septuagint,  "  the  impression,  or  seal,  of 
the  likeness."  St.  Cyril,  of  Alexandria,  citing  the  passage,  says: 
"  We  read  the  words  addressed  to  the  prince  of  Tyre,  which  also  we 
must  be  persuaded  to  apply  to  the  person  of  the  devil,  Thou  art  the 
impression  of  the  likeness.  But  he  to  whom  this  was  said  is  found  to 
have  fallen  from  the  likeness."  On  St.  John  6  :  27,  Opera,  Paris, 
1638,  Tom.  iv.,  p.  304  A. 


I 


i 


THE   CREATURE. 


41 


to  the  chief  of  rebels,  He  says,  "lie  is  a  liar,  and 
the  father  of  it  ;"  as  if  all  deviation  from  the  upright- 
ness of  Truth  may  be  traced  to  hinv^is  the  first  orig- 
inator of  evil. 

When  man  was  made  he  was  endowed  with  many 
excellences  and  with  a  possibility  of  not  dying,  not 
so  much  in  a  state  of  absolute  assured  perfection,  as 
in  one  of  conditional  potential  perfection.  The  con- 
dition was  obedience  to  God's  will  ;  the  penalty  of 
disobedience  was  seen  in  the  death  of  the  animals 
about  man.  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou 
shalt  surely  die  :"  as  if  it  were,  You  have  the  possi- 
bility of  (it  may  be)  progressive  development  ;  if, 
however,  you  reject  this  you  have  the  possibility  of 
progressive  decay  and  degradation  ;  you  will  be- 
come as  "  one  of  the  beasts  that  perish."  For  death 
was  then  known  as  Science  teaches,  and  if  it  were 
not  known  the  threat  would  have  been  meaningless, 
the  penalty  unknown. 

But  Satan,  the  enem}',  who  had  learned  to  say, 
"  Evil,  be  thou  my  good,"  was  at  hand  to  tempt  and 
seduce  man  ;  and  while  man  was  still  lapped  in  the 
bosom  of  the  love  of  his  Creator  the  foul  originator 
and  instigator  of  sin  approached,  and  man  listened 
and  fell.  Sin  progresses  by  three  stages — sugges- 
tion, delight,  consent.  With  man  in  Paradise  sug- 
gestion came  from  without,  wholly  ;  delight  was 
aroused  and  consent  followed.  In  mankind  since 
then  (with  One  only  exception)  sugg?«^tion  comes 
more  often  from  within,  it  may  be,  tL  ':  from  with- 
out. 

From  the  moment  of  man's  sin  all  was  changed 
for  him.    The  sluices  were   opened  and  the  flood 


W 


'  I       if 


II 


ill 


M 


f 


42 


THE   CREATURE. 


INiii 


"ill  '  '111 
si:  :l'l 

I'ii     '.n 


I     I 


I 


iiii'irjil 


came,  as  is  well  represented   in  the  collocation  of 
lessons  for  Sexajj^esima  Sunday  : 

"  Foe  of  mankind  I  too  bold  thy  race. 

Thou  runn'st  at  such  a  reckless  pace, 
Thine  own  dire  work  thou  surely  wilt  confound. 

'Twas  but  one  little  drop  of  sin 

We  saw  this  morning  ■  nter  in, 
And  lo  !  at  eventide  the  world  is  drowned." 

In  d\vellin«i^  on  the  Bible  account  of  the  Fall  of 
Man  we  must  remember  that  the  historical  part  of  it 
is  absolutely  true,  whether,  with  some  of  the  faithful, 
we  resj^ard  the  form  in  which  the  history  is  told 
as  an  allei^ory  or  a  parable.  Man  underwent  a 
definite  historical  probation  ;  he  exercised  his  free- 
dom of  will  to  enslave  his  will  to  evil. 

But  we  must  take  care  to  pierce  the  letter  to  reach 
the  spirit  of  Revelation,  break  through  the  outward 
coverini^of  outward  circumstances,  and  observe  t*  " 
moral  transaction  within.  We  must  learn  to  ap 
ciate  the  true  moral  si^^nificance  of  the  whole  mattei . 
Man  listened  to  God's  enemy  ;  misconceived  God's 
love  ;  suspected  His  intentions  ;  finally  disbelieved 
His  word.  Man's  fall  was  fatal  to  the  whole  race, 
for  it  was  the  deed  of  their  head,  in  whom  the  whole 
race  was  represented.  From  that  moment  sin  en- 
tered the  world  of  men,  and  that  which  science  can- 
not deny,  though  it  strives  hard  to  ignore,  has  all 
along  existed,  a  blight  and  hindrance,  keeping  man 
back  from  his  full  development.  Thus  "  by  one 
man  sin  entered  into  the  world  and  death  by  sin  ; 
and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have 
sinned." 


M 

\-i-^ 


LECTURE   III. 

THE  INCARNATION'. 
The  Word  was  mide  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us. — Sr.  John  i  :  14. 

Glorious  must  have  been  the  pr()S[)cct  to  Abra- 
ham when  God  broiii^lit  him  fortli  abroad  by  nii^ht 
and  bade  him  "  Look  now  toward  Heaven,  and  tell 
the  stars,  it  thou  be  able  to  number  them."  -  In  the 
Eastern  sky  there  are  visible  more  stars  than  we  see 
here.  The  more  a  man  ^azes  the  nK)re  they  seem, 
and  more  and  more  become  visible,  until  it  seems 
impossible  to  put  a  pin's  point  at  any  part  of  the 
Heavens  between  two  spots  of  lii^ht.  "  ()  Lord, 
how  manifold  are  Thy  works  ;  in  wisdom  hast  Thou 
made  them  all  !"  The  more  we  contemplate  the 
works  the  more  we  marvel  at  the  Maker  thereof. 

"  There  is  a  book,  who  runs  may  read, 
Which  heavenly  truth  imparts  ; 
And  all  the  lore  its  scholars  need, 
Pure  eyes  and  Christian  hearts. 

"  The  works  of  God  above,  below, 
Within  us  and  around, 
Are  pages  in  that  book  to  show 
How  God  Himself  is  found." 

But  if  the  Book  of  God  in  nature  is  so  glorious, 
we  may  almost  say  that  His  Book  of   Revelation  is 


:.i 


Genesis  15  :  5. 


■  ll 
I  i 


44 


THE   INCARNATION. 


lii' 


i 


|i  ^31 1 


still  more  glorious — and,  indeed,  as  we  might  think, 
it  is  of  the  same  character  in  one  respect.  The  more 
we  regard  it  the  more  its  wonders  come  out — won- 
ders which  at  first  we  could  not  conceive  of— won- 
ders that  grow  thicker  and  thicker  as  we  read  and 
meditate.  If  we  really  pray,  "  Open,  TIkju,  mine 
eyes,  O  Lord,  that  I  may  see  the  wondrous  things 
of  Thy  law,"  we  shall  see  them  more  and  more.  If 
we  pray  with  the  wisest  of  men,  "  Come,  thou  south 
wind,  and  blow  upon  my  garden,  and  the  spices 
thereof  shall  flow  out,"  we  shall  more  and  more  find 
the  sweetness  of  God's  Word,  more  and  more  realize 
the  wondrous  depths  of  that  matchless  Book. 

Nor  need  we  wonder  that  there  are  others  wh») 
cannot  read  as  we  do.  The  Apostle  told  us  cen- 
turies ago  why  it  was.  "  The  natural  man  receiveth 
not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  for  they  are 
foolishness  unto  him  ;  neither  can  he  know  them, 
because  they  are  spiritually  discerned."  "^^^  The 
same  truth  is  seen  in  the  manner  in  whicii  the  Voice 
was  understood  which  came  from  Heaven  to  our 
blessed  Lord  in  the  Temple  in  the  presence  of  the 
Gentile  proselytes. f  To  the  most  carnally-minded 
or  hard-hearted  the  Voic'3  appeared  mere  inarticu- 
late sounds,  a  brutiim  fuluicn  ;  "they  said  that  it 
thundered."  To  others  there  sounded,  indeed,  a 
speech,  an  articulate  sound,  but  they  perceived  not 
the  meaning;  they  said  "an  angel  spake  to  Him." 
Those  who  could  hear,  whose  hearts  were  prepared, 
heard  and  understood,  and  one  recorded  the  words. 
It  is  as  the  Lord  said,  "  Why  do  ye  not  understand 


I  Corinthians  2  :  14. 


t  St.  John  12  :  2S. 


Qssa 


mam 


Tin-:   INCARNATION. 


45 


My  speech  ?  even  because  ye  cannot  hear  My 
Word."  *  That  is,  because  tliere  was  in  His  hearers 
such  moral  and  spiritual  deficiency  that  tiiey  could 
not  accept  the  truth  of  His  teach ini;,  His  Word — 
that  is,  the  utterance  of  Reason,  the  outcome  ot  Wis- 
dom ;  therciore,  they  could  not  understand  the  lan- 
guage in  which  it  was  uttered.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  once  God's  voice  has  been  made  known,  then 
every  Ciod-fearing  and  believing  man  hears  Him 
speak  in  his  own  language.  May  God  grant  that  we 
may  more  and  more  realize  the  great  and  glorious 
teaching  in  His  Word,  "  comparing  spiritual  things 
with  spiritual,"  that  we  may  be  more  and  more  en- 
abled to  yield  to  Him  the  loving  adoration  of  faithful 
hearts  and  tlie  willing  devotion  of  loyal  affections. 
"  Lord,  what  love  have  1  unto  Thy  law,  all  the  day 
long  is  my  studv  in  it." 

In  similar  manner,  when  we  study  liistory,  which 
is  and  must  be  the  record  of  the  manner  in  which 
all  things  are  "  working  together  for  good  for  them 
that  love  God,"  the  same  marv  Uous  purpose  of 
Divine  power  and  love  is  seen,  so  that  unbelievers 
have  been  converted  by  the  consideration.  "  What 
is  more  intricate,  multiform,  and  anomalous  than  the 
history  of  the  different  nations  of  the  earth  !  At  the 
first  glance  it  is  an  inextricable  coil  of  men  and  ac- 
tions. At  the  next  it  appears  a  continual  repetition, 
a  rising  and  falling  of  nations,  a  flourishing  and  de- 
caying of  States,  a  constant  recurrence  of  the  same 
events  under  different  forms.  Hut  on  closer  obser- 
vation history  is  found  to  be  a  wondrous  tissue  of  all 


'"  i 


i  ij 

.  lit 


'■*i 


ill 


ife: 


|l;:.i 

m 


m 


St.  John  8  :  43. 


M 


\\W 


M 


i 

1 

1 

• 

' 

i 
! 

1 

46 


THE   INCARNATION. 


these  varici^ated  threads,  a  tissue  ever  lenj^thening 
and  continually  advancing  according  to  fixed  moral 
laws."*  As  ever,  "  some  said  it  thundered,  others, 
an  angel  si)ake,"  others  "  understand  the  Word." 

All  and  everything  in  God's  Book,  all  point  to  the 
central  fact  of  history,  the  focus  of  all  God's  work 
— the  union  of  the  Creator  with  Mis  creature  in  the 
Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  One  Mediator 
between  the  Creator  and  the  creature. 

This  enables  us  to  understand  the  account  of  the 
creation  of  man. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  Heavens,  called  into  being  by 
the  will  of  God,  were  peopled  with  spiritual  beings, 
each  perfect  in  himself,  each  with  his  own  particular 
nature,  which  he  does  not  share  with  another.  Then 
at  the  other  extreme  (if  we  may  say  so)  of  creation 
the  material  universe  was  summoned  into  existence, 
and  one  little  corner  of  it,  the  earth  on  which  we 
live,  was  gradually  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the 
gift  of  life.  VVith  the  other  millions  of  globes  and 
systems  we  have  no  communication  except  by  rays 
of  light,  and  of  these  by  revelation  we  only  know 
that  they  are  fellow-creatures  with  us.  It  tlie  mark- 
ings on  the  planet  Mars  really  show  the  presence  of 
a  vast  system  of  canals,  it  may,  perchance,  be  peopled 
by  intelligent  agents,  who  have  worked  out  the 
problem  of  locomotion  as  our  own  engineers  might 
have  done  ;  but  this  does  not  affect  our  position. 

The  m;»ii.K.nt  the  earth  on  which  we  live  was  ready 
to  support  life,  the  Divine  gift  of  life  was  communi- 


*  Luthardt,  "  Fundamental  Truths  of  Cbiistianity,"  Lecture  III., 
sec  Appendix  F. 


ii^Si 


THE   INCARNATION. 


47 


cated  to  it,  and  by  almost  insensible  j^radations  and 
variations,  which  seem  almost  infinite,  the  forms  of 
life  advance  and  become  more  sensitive,  until  the 
form  of  man  is  reached.  Then  once  more  there  is 
an  intervention  of  the  Creator  with  a  new  i^ift,  which 
makes  man  the  head  and  king  of  the  orjj^anic  kinj^- 
doin.  He  is  made  in/o^  the  imaj^e  of  God  :  he  has 
(granted  to  him  an  intellectual  spirit  whereby  he  has 
affinity  to  the  spiritual  intellijjjences  in  the  world  of 
angels.  I  le  recapitulates  all  creation,  and  has  thus 
the  character  of  the  representative  of  all  created 
things.  In  his  spiritual  nature  he  is  like,  and  may 
hereafter  become,  "  eciual  to  the  angels."  In  his 
lower  nature  he  has  affinity  with  all  below  liim  in  the 
lower  forms  of  life  ;  ay,  even  with  inorganic  matter, 
for  "  dust  he  is,  and  unto  dust  he  will  return." 

There  is  also  one  other  point  on  which  Revelation 
insists,  and  that  is  the  unique  character  of  the  first 
man.  In  the  one  individual,  Adam,  was  contained 
all  mankind.  |\Vith  respect  to  what  Science  may 
have  to  say  about  this,  we  need  say  no  more  than 
that  though  the  question  has  been  freely  discussed, 
and  some  years  ago  several  scientific,  faitiiful  men 
were  of  opinion  that  there  were  many  Adams,  yet 
now  the  tendency  is  to  believe  that  the  unit}-,  which 
is  beiitig  acknowledged,  arises  from  unity  of  origin. 
This  seems  to  be  insisted  on  with  earnestness  in  the 
Old  Testament.  It  is  emphasized  by  the  parade  of 
the  animals  before  Adam,  when  their  difference 
trom  him  is  shown  to  be  so  vast  that  not  one  was  a 
lielp  meet  for  him.     Surely  this   would   teach   that 


•  See  Appendix  G. 


fct 


•  ii! 


%vi 


'i  I 


\l:i, 


i     II 


^rf 


■! 

r 

1 

k 

It 

• 

! 
i 

'in  Ml 


!!    Ill 


'■'I  i 

1    v 


M 


48 


THE  INCARNATION. 


man  was  not  ivholly  the  result  of  Evolution.  For  if 
he  were,  something  outside  of  himself  would  have 
been  sufificiently  near  to  him  to  be  a  help  meet  for 
him.  The  last  step  or  stage  in  Evolution  would 
have  been  so  nearly  akin  as  to  have  been  little  less 
than  woman,  except  that  the  great  gulf  had  been 
fixed  by  the  Divine  intervention,  and  the  bestowal 
of  the  great  and  glorious  gift  of  spiritual  intelligence 
and  self-consciousness  had  been  granted  to  man. 

Then  there  was  built  up  out  of  the  side  of  Adam» 
who  lay  meanwhile  in  deep  ecstasy  or  sleep,  the 
help  meet  for  him,  Eve,  the  mother  of  all  living. 

If  we  had  only  the  Old  Testament  we  should  not 
know  why  such  stress  was  laid  on  all  this,  but 
when  we  learn  that  the  Creator  has  been  pleased  in 
His  Infinite  love  and  mercy  to  unite  the  creature  to 
Himself,  then  "  our  understandings  are  opened,  and 
we  can  understand  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things 
concerning"  that  Incarnation.  We  can  see  how 
that,  when  Adam  was  made  in  the  Image  of  God,  he 
was  also  made  in  that  Image  which  the  Creator 
would  assume  "in  the  fulness  of  time."  We  can 
see  why  Adam  was  the  unique  and  sole  representa- 
tive of  mankind  ;  and  that  all  mankind  without  ex- 
ception was  developed  and  derived  out  of  him, 
because  the  last  Adam,  the  Lord  Incarnate,  would 
be  the  new  head  into  Whom  anew  all  mankind  should 
be  recapitulated  *  and  summed  up  in  the  new  crea- 
tion. We  can  understand  why  man  was  of  so  com- 
plex a  nature  as  to  comprehend  in  himself  an  affinity 
to  each  part  of  creation,  that  when  the  loving  Crea- 


Ephesians  i  :  10. 


^1 

I 


OS 


THE   INCARNATION. 


49 


tor  vouchsafed  to  enter  into  Personal  conjunction 
with  the  common  nature  of  man,  He  might  be  at 
once  in  touch  with  all  His  creation. 

Here,  then,  the  question  faces  us,  whether  the 
Personal  Union  of  the  Creator  with  man's  nature  was 
due  to  man's  sin,  that  He  Who  alone  was  able,  might 
become  "  the  Repairer  of  the  Breach"  *  between 
man  and  his  God  created  by  man's  sin  ;  or,  to  speak 
humanly,  was  the  Incarnation  dependent  upon  the 
sin  of  man  ?  If  so,  indeed,  we  may  cry  out,  "  O  Felix 
culpa,"  O  blessed  sin  !  But  this  seems  strange  and 
abhorrent  to  our  sense  of  what  is  right.  Here  we 
might  be  content  to  lay  our  hands  on  our  mouth  and 
listen  to  the  outburst  of  the  Apostle,  "  O  the  depth 
of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of 
God  !  how  unsearchable  are  His  judgments,  and 
His  ways  past  finding  out  !  For  who  hath  known 
the  mind  of  the  Lord  ?  or  who  hath  been  His  coun- 
sellor ?  Or  whr  hath  first  given  to  Him,  and  it  shall 
be  recompensed  unto  Him  again  ?  For  of  Him,  and 
through  Him,  and  to  Him,  are  all  things  :  to  Whom 
be  glory  forever.    Amen." 

Still  we  may  remember  that  intellect  and  reason- 
ing powers  have  been  given  to  us  of  God,  and  there- 
fore if,  with  devout  submission  to  Him,  and  with 
dependence  upon  His  guidance  and  His  Word,  we 
endeavor  to  understand  what  we  believe,  it  cannot 
be  wrong.  St.  Paul  himself  in  dealing  with  the 
heathen  argued  with  them  on  such  grounds  as  he 
found  in  common  with  them  ;  and,  again,  in  dealing 
with  the  Christians  at   Rome,  and  at  Corinth,   he 


>  :i, 
<    1. 

i 

'     1 

# 

)■■! 

■';:r 

1 

I    '' 

m 


iti 


!     |i, 

ill! 


■■>V  I 
It 


*  Isaiah  58  ■  la. 


50 


THE    INCARNATION. 


argued  as  men  might  argue.  Indeed,  the  key  to  all 
the  mysteries  of  God  is  in  the  hands  of  a  devout  and 
faithful  Christian.  "  We  know  that  the  Son  of  God 
is  come,  and  hath  given  us  an  understanding,  that 
we  may  know  Him  that  is  True  ;  and  we  are  in  Him 
that  is  True,  even  in  His  Son  Jesus  Christ."*  As 
the  Incarnate  Lord  "opened  the  understanding"  of 
His  earliest  disciples  *'  that  they  might  understand 
the  Scriptures,"  so  the  Apostle  St.  John  here  tells  us 
that  the  gift  is  a  continuous  gift  to  all  the  faithful, 
opening  out  their  understandings  in  a  progressive 
apprehensionf  of  "  Him  that  is  True."  Let  us  pray 
more  and  more  earnestly  "  Open  Thou  mine  eyes, 
O  Lord,  that  I  may  see  the  wondrous  things  of  Thy 
law  ;"  and  in  deep  humility  let  us  approach  this 
awful  subject. 

A  very  excellent  and  comprehensive  history  of 
Ciiristian  opinion  on  the  particular  question  as  to 
whether  the  Incarnation  would  have  taken  place  if 
there  had  been  no  fall  of  man,  has  been  given  by 
Professor  Westcott,  to  whose  essay  I  would  refer 
inquirers. :{: 

It  may  be  said  that  there  is  nothing  in  Scripture 
•which  would  lead  us  to  assert  that  the  Incarnation 
was  dependent  upon  the  fall  of  man,  and  that  it  was 
to  repair  the  wrong  then  done  that  the  Incarnation 
was  decreed.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  much  to 
persuade  us  that  the  Personal  Union  of  God  with 
His  creature  was  part  of  the  "eternal  purpose  which 
God  appointed  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 


*  I  St.  John  5  :  20.  f  Professor  Westcott  in  loc. 

X  Essay  on  "  the  Gospel  of  Creation"  at  the  end  of  commentary  on 
'*  The  Epistles  of  St.  John."    See  Appendix  H. 


THE   INCARNATION. 


51 


tii' 


^as 


At  first  sijjht  there  is  one  text,  common  in  popular 
(piotation,  which  would  seem  to  be  aj^ainst  this  state- 
ment. It  is  in  the  Book  of  Revelation,  "  The  Lamb 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  Tiiis  is  one 
of  those  interpretations  which  have  arisen  from  the 
inadequacy  of  the  Latin  lanj^uaj^e  to  rci)rcsent  the 
delicate  accuracy  of  the  Greek.  The  Greek  Fathers, 
for  the  most  part,  constrained  by  the  true  nieaninj^ 
of  the  preposition,  connect  the  words  "  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world"  with  "  the  13ook  of  Life," 
and  not  as  commonly  quoted.  The  preposition 
rather  implying  an  act  than  a  desiijn.  Where  design 
is  intended  it  would  rather  be  expressed  as  St.  Peter 
writes,  "  The  precious  Blood  of  Clirist,  as  of  a  Lamb 
without  spot  or  blemish.  Who  verily  was  fore- 
ordained before  the  foundation  of  the  world."  Here, 
however,  it  is  rather  the  act  than  the  design  that  is 
represented,  as  farther  on  in  the  same  Book  of  the 
Revelation  the  same  expression  is  attached  to  the 
words  "  Book  of  Life  ;"  "  the  names  written  in  the 
]3ook  of  Life  from  the  foundation  of  the  world." 
When,  however,  the  Greek  was  translated  into  Latin, 
the  other  view  obtained,  and  in  the  Western  Church, 
from  the  revised  translation  of  St.  Jerome,  in  later 
times,  the  words  "  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world"  have  been  attached  to  the  word  "  slain,"  as 
if  to  express  design.  This  text,  then,  rightly  under- 
stood, teaches  the  same  as  St.  Paul,  "  Blessed  be  the 
God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Who  hath 
blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  Christ  :  Ac- 
cording as  He  hath  chosen  us  in  Him  before  the  founda- 
tion of  the  ivorldS'    There  is  no  statement  of  a  design 


t 


52 


THE    INCARNATION. 


that  He  should  be  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.* 

On  the  other  hand,  do  we  not  read  that  "  all  things 
were  ereated  by  Ilim  [i\u\ /or  ////;//"  Is  not  this 
j^reat  and  nlori;)us  mystery  spoken  of  by  wSt.  Paul  ? 
"  To  make  all  men  see  what  is  the  dispensation  of 
the  mystery  whieh  from  the  be^j^innini;  of  the  world 
hath  been  hid  in  Cioi),  Who  created  all  things  by 
jesus  Ciirist  :  to  the  intent  that  now  unto  the  prin- 
cipalities and  powers  in  heavenly  places  might  be 
known  by  the  Church  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God, 
according  to  the  eternal  i)urpose  which  lie  j^urposed 
in  Christ  jesus  our  Lord."  f 

Indeed,  the  same  may  find  some  support  in  the 
careful  language  of  the  Nicene  Creed,  as  Osiander 
(whose  niece  was  married  to  Archbishop  Cranmcr) 
pointed  out.  The  language  is,  "  Wiio  for  us  men, 
and  for  our  salvation,  was  made  man."  "  For  us 
men"  first  was  He  incarnate— a  wider  benefit  than 
the  narrower  one  "  for  our  salvation." 

Some  speculators  have  given  as  a  reason  for  the 
fall  of  the  rebel  angels  that,  when  the  purpose  of  the 
Creator  was  revealed  to  them,  that  creation  was  to 
be  joined  to  the  Creator  by  means  of  the  Incarna- 
tion, the  feeling  of  jealousy  and  pride  was  aroused 
which  led  to  their  fall.  Of  this  we  can  know  noth- 
ing more  than  that  St.  Peter  tells  us  that  the  Incar- 
nation and  the  whole  of  its  attendant  mysteries  were 
such  "as  the  angels  desired  to  look  into.":}:  No 
argument  can  be  based  upon  such  speculation. 


*  See  Revelation  13:8;  17:8;  i  St.  Peter  i  :  ig  ;  Ephesians  i  :  4. 
f  Ephesians  3:11.  t  ^  St.  Peter  i  :  12. 


I    i 


THK    INCARNATION. 


53 


From  earliest  titnes  the  buildinj^  up  of  Ivve  from 
Adam's  side  has  l)een  re^^arded  as  typical  of  tlie 
Churcli  of  Christ,  as  intimated  l)y  St.  rani.  Jii  the 
document  wliicii  dates  from  the  earliest  years  of  the 
second  century,  and  is  called  the  Second  Ivpistle  of 
St.  Clement  to  the  Corinthians,  but  is  j^enerally  re- 
j^arded  as  an  ancient  homily,  we  hnd  the  foliowinjj^  ■* 
"  I  do  not  suppose  ye  are  ignorant  that  the  livinj^ 
Church  is  the  IJody  of  Christ  ;  for  the  Scripture 
saith  God  made  man  male  and  female.  The  male  is 
Christ,  the  female  is  the  Church."  'I'his  would 
imply  that  the  j)urpose  of  the  incarnation  |)receded, 
and  was  not  contins^ent,  upon  the  fall  of  man. 

Oh  the  marvellous  love  and  mercy  of  the  Creator  ! 
Nothing  can  thwart  His  purpose,  not  even  the 
tittcrly  unj^rateful  affront  of  His  favored  creature! 
Mow  must  we  marvel  with  adorinjj^  love  at  that 
which  has  been  called  with  reverence  f  "that  im- 
perturbable mercy  which  held  on  its  course  in  sj)ite 
of  man's  rebellion  !"  "  Oh  that  men  would  praise 
the  Lord  for  His  j^^oodness,  and  for  His  wonderful 
works  for  the  children  of  men  !  Let  them  also  exalt 
Him  in  the  congre<(ation  of  the  people  and  praise 
Him  in  the  assembly  of  the  elders  !" 

God  hath  indeed  "  made  known  unto  us  the  mys- 
tery of  His  w'ill,  according  to  His  j^ood  i)leasure, 
which  He  hath  purposed  in  Himself,  that  in  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  fulness  of  times  He  mi*;ht  <(ather 
together  in  one  all  thinj^s  in  Christ,  both  which  are 
in  Heaven  and  which  arc  on  earth,  even  in  Him,  in 


*  §  14,  ed.  LiKhtfoot,  p.  326. 

f  Mason's  "  Failh  of  the  Gospel,"  p.  148. 


i  yi 


M 


c   I-    '■ 


i 


i' 


i    ; 


ill 


54 


THE   INCARNATION. 


Whom  also  \vc  have  obtained  an  inheritance,  beinjj^ 
predestinated  according  to  the  purpose  of  Him  Who 
worketli  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  ilis  own 
Will."* 

When  man  had  sinned,  then  the  Divine  [)lan  was 
not,  could  not,  be  frustrated  ;  but  that  which  the 
love  of  the  Creator  had  determined  His  mercy  car- 
ried out,  taking-  the  wise  Serpent  in  his  own  crafti- 
ness and  triumphing-  over  him  in  the  defeat  which 
he  thoui^ht  he  had  achieved,  the  death  on  the  Cross. 

When  man  sinned  then  came  to  man  the  Gospel 
of  Hedem[>tion  in  addition  to  the  Gos})el  of  Creation. 
Thenceforward  all  thinj^s  worked  toi^ether  toward 
the  final  intervention  of  Divine  Power.  Just  as 
there  had  been  a  <^radual  advance  from  the  moment 
of  the  commencement  of  life  upon  the  earth,  until 
Divine  intervention  was  necessary  in  the  formation 
of  man  into  the  Imag-c  of  God,  so  from  the  utterance 
of  the  (xospel  of  Redemption  there  was  a  continual 
and  gradual  preparation  for  **  the  fulness  of  time," 
when  the  final  intervention  took  place. 

AH  along  this  period  "  God  left  not  Himself  with- 
out witness"  in  Scripture  and  out  of  Scripture.  In 
Scripture  we  read  of  prophecies,  types,  and  appear- 
ances  vouchsafed  to  keep  alive  the  memorial  of  the 
promised  Gospel,  and  to  bear  witness  to  its  truth, 
that  "  wdien  it  is  come  to  pass  we  may  believe." 

Not  only  do  the  prophecies  become  more  frequent 
and  more  luminous  as  their  fulfilment  drew  near, 
but  the  subject-matter  of  the  moral  teaching  of  the 
prophets  became  more  and  more  what  we  may  call 


*  Ephesians  i  :  g-ii. 


THE    INCARNATION. 


S5 


evanf^cllcal  as  the  "  fulness  of  time"  approached. 
But  suddenly,  some  three  hundred  years  before  the 
l^reat  central  event  of  history  took  place,  proi)hecy 
ceased,  and  there  was  an  awful  hush,  like  "  the  silence 
of  half  an  hour"  in  the  vision  of  the  Apocalypse* 
before  the  sacerdotal  act  of  the  angel  in  offerin<j^  in- 
cense, or  the  still  more  awful  hush  of  S})y  Wednes- 
day spent  by  the  Lord  in  retirement  at  Bethany, 
from  which  He  issued  to  speak  and  act  as  God  on 
Maundy  Thursday,  and  to  offer  the  "  full,  perfect, 
and  sufficient  sacrifice,  oblation,  and  satisfaction,  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world"  on  Good  Friday. 

But  during  the  silence  "  God  left  not  Himself 
without  witness  ;"  for  in  His  Providence  the  Old 
Testament  was  translated  into  the  most  sensitive 
language  in  the  world,  that  the  Word  might  "  have 
in  every  city  them  that  preach  Him,  being  read  in 
the  synagogues  every  Sabbath  day."  Here,  too, 
was  a  marvel  whereby  as  ever  the  Truth  might  be 
testified  to  from  of  old,  that  "  when  it  is  come  to 
pass  we  may  believe."  If,  in  the  course  of  time, 
error  creeps  into  certain  passages,  lo,  we  have  the 
Greek  translation,  the  Authorized  V^ersion  of  the 
Jewish  Church  in  the  Apostles'  times  to  help  us  to 
correct  the  error ! 

In  what  has  been  called  the  Protevangeliiivi  of  Re- 
demption, in  Genesis  3  :  15,  a  curious  error,  arising 
from  a  slip  of  the  style  or  pencil,  came  into  vogue  in 
the  fourth  century,  productive  of  much  important 
consequence  even  in  the  nineteenth  century.  We 
read  in  the   Douay  Version  :   "  I  will  put  enmities 


']'■  «j 


I'  i     1 


i:::i 


■!-*i| 


ilf 


*  Revelation  8  :  i. 


1 11 


! 

I' 
ill. 


56 


THE    INCARNATION. 


hctvvccii  thcc  and  the  woman,  and  thy  seed  and  her 
seed  :  SHE  shall  crush  thy  head,  and  thou  siuilt  lie 
in  wait  ior  /it'r  heel."  This  has  arisen  from  the  little 
mistake  of  writing  an  a  for  an  e,  Ipsa  for  1|)S<'.  If 
we  turn  to  the  Greek  we  find  the  unmistakable  mas- 
culine (iti>T(>?,  He,  and  the  modern  edifice  built  on 
the  feminine  collapses,* 

Then  there  is  the  glorious  prophecy  of  Isaiah, 
"  Behold,  the  virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bear  a  Son, 
and  shall  call  his  name  Immanuel."t  Here  some 
would  endeavor  to  say  this  simply  means  "  this 
young  woman  ;"  and  it  is  no  miracle  that  a  young 
woman  should  bear  a  son.  But,  thank  God,  the 
answer  is  at  hand.  The  Greek  translators  in  the 
third  century  belore  Christ  interpreted  it  "  The 
Virgin,"  and  the  prophecy  of  Jeremiah  is  of  similar 
import.  "  The  Lord  hath  created  a  new  thing  in 
the  earth,  A  woman  shall  compass  a  man."  :{: 

But  passing  from  prophecy  to  type,  which  is  a 
prophecy  in  act,  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament 
bristles  with  types,  as  we  should  expect,  and  the 
moment  the  "  eyes  are  opened  to  understand  the 
wondrous  things,"  the  heart  must  find  utterance  in 
words  of  adoring  praise.  From  the  time  of  Abra- 
ham's child  of  promise,  from  Samson  and  others  to 
John,  the  son  of  the  priest  Zachariiili,  each  child 
born,  to  a  certain  extent,  out  of  the  course  of  nature, 
was  a  type  so  far  of  the  Virgin  Birth. 

Every  passage  in  the  sacred  life  of  Sacrifice  >t  the 
Lord  Jesus  has  some  representative  c.    All 

sacrifices  were  in  a  degree  types  of  Hi:       uid  there- 


*  See  Appendix  I. 


f  Isaiah  7  :  14. 


{:  Jeremiah  31  :  22. 


TIIK    INCAKNAi'ION. 


57 


fore  could  the  Forerunner  cry,  "  Hehokl  the  Lamb 
(A  (iod,  tluit  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  woild." 
For  "  Christ  our  Passover  Lamb  is  sacrificed  for  us" 
— the  Lamb  witliout  s|)()t  or  blemish.  Isaac  carry- 
in*^  the  wood  up  the  hill,  and  bound  upon  tiie  wootl 
to  die  ;  the  serpent  raised  on  hij^h  on  tiie  pole,  that 
those  who  looked  unto  it  mijj^ht  live,  what  strikin^^ 
tyj)es  of  the  crucifixion  !  Joseph  let  down  into  the 
empty  cistern  and  unjustly  connnitted  to  j)rison; 
Jeremiah  let  down  into  the  dreary  dunj^eon  for  his 
faithfulness,  are  but  foreshadows  of  Ilim  Wiio  for 
no  fault  of  His  own  went  down  for  a  while  to  the 
spirits  in  prison — went  down  to  Hades.  Isaac  alive 
from  sacrifice  ;  Joseph  raised  from  prison  to  the  ri<;ht 
iiand  of  power  and  feedinj;  his  brethren  with  bread  ; 
Israel  rescued  from  Kj^yi)t  ;  Samson  at  midnij^ht 
bursting  from  Gaza  and  curryinj^  away  the  ^ates  ; 
Jonah  restored  to  li<^ht  and  life  from  the  j^reat  fish, 
what  are  they  all  but  types  of  the  Resurrection  of 
the  Lord  about  midnij^ht,  bein^r  advanced  to  the 
Right  Hand  of  God,  and  feeding  His  brethren  with 
the  Bread  of  Heaven  ? 

Then  there  is  the  third  group  of  witness,  which 
God  gave  to  man  before  the  Incarnation  was  com- 
plete, the  Theophanies,  or  mysterious  appearances 
at  certain  epochs  in  history. 

The  early  writers  of  the  Church  ever  delighted  to 
see  in  the  Old  Testament  certain  hints  or  statements 
that  God  had  spoken  to  and  had  been  seen  by  men. 
They  claimed  these  appearances  as  proleptic  mani- 
festations of  the  Incarnate  Lord.  We  may  not  for 
one  moment  suppose  that  God  the  Son  in  His  Divine 
Nature  is  less  invisible,  less  infinite  than  either  of 


^1 

1 

.1 

1.  !■; 

I  ':)' 


11 


% 


m 


I   if 


I'  \ 


III 

1 H' 

tit 

58 


THE   INCARNATION. 


the  other  Persons  of  the  Ever  Blessed  Trinity. 
The  statement  of  St,  John  is  absolutely  true  : 
"  None  hath  seen  God  at  any  time,"  that  is  as  God, 
in  His  Divine  Nature.  But  when  we  know  that  the 
Person  Who  in  "  fulness  of  time"  became  Incarnate 
was  Ciod  the  Son,  we  can  underst-^.nd  that  these 
appearances  were,  as  it  were,  preludes  of  the  Incar- 
nation, certain  proleptic  reflections,  manifested  an- 
ticipations of  what  was  about  to  come  to  pass,  which 
was  to  Him  (beff)re  VVMiom  there  is  no  past  or  future, 
but  all  is  an  eternal  present)  as  real  as  though  it  had 
already  taken  place.  So  that  in  merciful  condescen- 
sion the  Creator  accustomed  His  creatures  to  the 
thought  of  beholding  Him  in  human  form. 

In  the  account  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  we  read 
that  the  sinful  pair  "  heard  the  Voice  of  the  Lord 
God  walking  in  the  garden,"  the  very  phrase  imply- 
ing an  appearance  as  man.  But  here  and  elsewhere 
before  the  separation  of  Abraham,  as  God's  chosen 
friend,  the  Revelation  is  said  to  be  by  a  \^>icc  of 
one  speaking.  But  to  Abraham  we  read  "  The 
Lord  appeared,''  as  of  a  revelation  to  the  eye,  and 
not  to  the  ear  alone.  In  the  deeply  mysterious 
covenant-making  vision  recorded  in  the  fifteenth 
chapter  of  Genesis  it  is  said  :  "  The  \\^)Kn  of  the 
Lord  came  unto  Abram,"  but  at  this  time  (the  vision 
was  by  night)  the  Presence  of  the  Word  of  the  Lord 
was  not  revealed  in  human  form,  but  by  "a  smoking 
furnace  and  a  lamp  of  fire  that  passed  between  those 
pieces."  Some  have  doubted  whether  this  was  a 
waking  vision,  but  as  it  said  that  "He  brought 
Abram  forth  abroad"  to  sec  the  multitude  of  the 
stars,   and   later   on  that   "a  deep  sleep  fell  upon 


fl 
(ijii_ 


ni 


THE   INCARNATION'. 


59 


Abram,"  it  is  most  probable  tliat  at  first,  at  all 
events,  it  was  a  \vakin<^  vision.  This  j)arlicular 
vision  is  also  remarkable  for  another  |>hrase,  the  ex- 
pression "  Lord  God"  oceurs  twice  in  the  account 
of  this  vision,  and  nowhere  else  in  the  Hook  of 
Genesis,  i'he  lorm  of  the  Hel)rew  word  for  Lord 
belons^s  (as  has  been  shown  by  others)  in  an  especial 
manner  to  the  Second  Person  of  the  Kver  Blessed 
Trinity.  When,  therefore,  we  read  in  Malachi,  the 
last  of  the  prophets,  "  The  Lord,  Whom  ye  seek, 
shall  suddenly  come  to  His  Temple,  even  the  Anjj^el 
of  the  Covenant,  Whom  ye  delight  in  ;"  it  is  as  we 
should  ex|)ect,  and  all  Christian  interpreters  are 
a<:^recd  that  the  Lord  Who  is  the  Anjj^el  of  the  Cove- 
nant is  the  same  as  the  Word  of  the  I>oRl)  Who  aj)- 
peared  to  Abraham  and  made  the  covenant  with 
Him  ;  the  same  as  the  Ani^el  of  the  Lord  that 
ap|)eared  to  the  i^atriarchs,  even  God  the  W^)rd. 

How  exipiisitelv  tender  is  the  account  of  the  first 
appearance  of  the  Beini^  of  uni(|ue  i^randeur,  the 
A  <^f:l  of  the  I^oRD.  Hajj^ar,  the  slave  of  Sarah, 
wrons^ed  by  her  mistress  and  of  a  hiiL^h  spirit,  is  fuj^i- 
tive  and  like  to  perish.  What  can  we  imai^ine  as 
more  descrvinj^  of  tender  comi)assion  than  a  fuii^itive 
slave,  about  to  become  a  mother,  wanderinjj^  without 
food  or  u^uidance  in  the  trackless  desert?  ".And 
the  An<i^el  of  the  LoKO  found  her,"  found  her  as  if 
in  His  comj>assion  He  had  been  seekin<^  her.  And 
again,  a  second  time  to  Hay;ar,  a  second  time  an  out- 
cast, it  is  the  .\n<^el  of  the  Lord  that  came  with 
words  of  sympathy  and  encouraj^ement. 

But  time  fails  to  speak  of  all  the  appearances  at 
the  various  periods  of  crises  of  distress  or  necessity 


'rl 


f 

I;  '! 


! 


111.'" 


r 


•^  f 


6o 


THE    INCARNATION. 


1 


; 

; 

■'  t  *,' 

I 
1 

1 

n 

■■ '  '1; 

h   jS'i 


!  4l| 


of  the  chosen  of  God.  Me  it  is  that  forbids  the 
death  of  Isaac  on  Mount  Moriah  ;  that  watches  over 
and  aj)pcars  to  Jacob  ;  that  led  tlie  people  in  the 
wilderness  ;  Who  appeared  to  Gideon  ;  was  seen 
of  Zachariali.  To  Moses  tliere  was  the  prom- 
ise,* "  My  Presence  (or  rather  as  the  Hebrew  has  it, 
My  Face)  shall  go  with  thee,  and  I  will  give  thee 
rest,"  and  Moses  said,  "  If  Thy  Face  go  not  up  with 
me,  carry  us  not  up  hence."  This  the  Greek  trans- 
lators naturally  render  "  Except  Thou  go  not  up 
Thyself  with  us." 

I  dare  not  go  on  to  speak  of  more  Theophanies  or 
preludes  of  the  Incarnation  ;  how  God  the  Word 
was  seen  of  Isaiah  (as  testified  by  St.  Johnf),  by 
Rzekiel  and  Daniel,  and  other  holy  men  of  old  ; 
attention  must  be  drawn  to  the  fact  that  the  appear- 
ances granted  for  keeping  up  the  witness  of  the 
promised  Gospel  gradually  ceased,  as  did  prophecy, 
and  to  a  certain  extent  (with  the  exception  oi  the 
sacrifices)  types,  as  the  awful  hush  of  the  three  hun- 
dred years'  silence  preceded  the  realization  of  "  the 
desire  of  all  nations." 

Nor  did  "  God  leave  Himself  without  witness" 
outside  Scripture.  There  are  to  be  found  in  many 
heathen  nati<jns  traces  of  a  belief  in  the  Incar- 
nation of  God,  often,  alas  !  defiled  and  obscured  by 
the  grotesqueness  and  impurity  of  the  minds  of  sin- 
ful men,  but  still  testifying  to  primeval  or  patri- 
archal tradition. 

Nay,  more  than  this,  there  is  the  marvellous  fact 
of  the  whole  course  of  history  converging  upon  this 


*  Exodus  33  :  14,  15. 


f  St.  John  12  :  41  quoting  Isaiah  6. 


THE   INCARNATION. 


6i 


one  central  fact  ;  history,  not  only  of  the  Jews,  hut 
of  the  various  nations  of  the  world,  proving  that 
"  the  Most  Ilij^h  riileth  in  the  kin<^doni  of  men,  and 
giveth  it  to  whomsoever  He  will."  The  conviction 
arisinj^  iroxn  the  observation  of  this  has  been  the 
means  f*i  convertinjj^  many  to  the  truth.  A  i^reat 
historical  scholar  of^the  last  century,  who  had  been 
sceptical,  suddenly  saw  the  clew  to  his  historical 
difficulties,*  "  The  whole  world  seemed  t(^  be 
ordered  for  the  sole  purpose  of  furthering^  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Redeemer,  and  if  this  religion  is  not 
divine,  I  understand  nothing  at  all."  No  fortuitous 
concourse  <A  atoms  of  history  could  have  produced 
the  development  of  events  making  the  whole  order 
of  the  wr»rld  fit  for  the  Birth  of  the  Lord. 

But  at  length  there  came  "  the  dispensation  of  the 
fulness  of  time,"  and  God  "gathered  together  in 
one  all  things  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in  Heaven 
and  which  arc  on  earth,"  and  God  the  Son  was  born 
into  the  world  a  man  :  "The  Word  was  made 
Flesh." 

"O  Lord,  what  is  man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of 
him,  and  the  son  of  man  that  Thou  visitest  him  ! 
Thr>u  madest  him  lower  than  the  angels  to  crown 
him  with  glory  and  worship  !  " 

"The  fulness  of  time  had  come,"  the  heiress  of 
the  throne  of  David  was  a  maiden  of  low  estate  in  a 
poor  village  of  a  despised  district  of  a  conquered 
country.  What  could  seem  weaker  in  the  eyes  of 
men  ?  As  an  heiress  she  was  espoused  to  her  nearest 
male  relatirm,  whose  genealogy  would   be  the  same 


ii 


i: 


H  '11 


' 

m 

•  i 

k  i: 

1      ! 

/-   ■ 

■    -1 

r 

'  i 

t 

■ '  n 

■      V 
i 

1 


•  See  Appendix  F. 


||;< 

H  \ ' 

II  ip 

K^H  1 

( 

HH ' ' 

' 

■I^H  I 

il' 

1 

11 

II 

fl  i 

i:i:l 


I 


62 


THE   INCARNATION. 


as  hers  one  or  two  steps  back.  She  must  liave  been 
of  tender  }'ears,  for  though  espoused  she  was  not 
married.  As  beseemed  an  holy  maiden  she  was  with- 
in, perchance  at  her  devotions,  when  the  vVngel 
Gabriel  came  with  his  message  of  stupendous  im- 
port. As  the  first  word  in  Latin  of  the  angel's  mes- 
sage was  the  name  of  our  first  mother  in  Latin  re- 
versed, so  the  Latin  Fathers  have  delighted  to  say 
that  Mary's  humble,  faithful,  obedience,  reversed 
Eve's  proud,  distrustful,  disobedience.  The  Ai'e  of 
the  angel  was  the  commencement  of  the  reversal  of 
the  fall  of  Era.  If  when  the  devil  spake  to  Kve,  our 
death  hung  on  her  reply,  may  we  not  say  that  when 
the  angel  spake  to  Mary,  our  life  hung  on  her  reply. 
Truly  the  faith  of  the  Blessed  Maiden  must  have 
been  stupendous  I  "  When  the  fulness  of  time  had 
come  God  sent  forth  Mis  Son,  made  of  a  woman." 
"  Behold  I"  cried  Isaiah,  in  rapt  prophecy  ;  "  Be- 
hold !  a  virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  Son."  One 
hundred  vears  of  human  life  later  Jeremiah  pro- 
claimed, "  The  Lord  hath  created  a  new  thing  in 
the  earth,  A  woman  shall  compass  a  man."  Seven 
hundred  years  after  Isaiah  "  the  fulness  of  time" 
came,  and  "  the  VV^ORU  was  made  Flesh  ;"  "  made 
of  a  woman"  only  ;  made  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  His 
mother. 

Reason,  logic,  experience  of  man  are  here  stulti- 
fied, and  yet  we  cannot  but  see  the  fitness  from  all 
points  of  our  limited  view.  There  are  four  ways  in 
which  we  can  conceive  of  man  being  produced. 
First,  without  man  or  wonian,  as  was  Adam,  by 
God's  will  alone  ;  secondly,  of  man  alone,  as  was 
Eve  by  God's  operation  ;  thirdly,  of  man  and  woman, 


THE   IN'CARNATIOX. 


63 


as  the  generality  of  mankind  by  God's  blessing  ;  last- 
ly, of  woman  alone  by  the  operation  of  God,  as  was 
Christ.  Had  not  this  last  possibility  been  realized 
the  universe  would  not  have  been  perfect.  So 
reasoned  the  holy  man  of  old.* 

Reason  and  experience  must  stand  aside,  but  faith 
is  quickened,  hope  bounds  to  the  front,  and  love 
blazes  forth  like  the  fire  on  the  altar  which  was 
never  to  die  out.  Faith,  hope,  and  love  cling  around 
the  Son  of  man,  Who  is  also  the  Son  of  Ciod.  With- 
out the  Incarnation  this  were  impossible,  for  God  is 
of  Majesty  Unapproachable. 

The  message  was  received  at  Nazareth  in  Galilee, 
but  the  Scripture  said  that  Christ  should  be  born  at 
Bethlehem,  and  the  exigencies  of  the  Kmpire  ot 
Rome  were  to  be  allowed  to  bring  this  about.  A 
census  was  to  be  made  previous  to  taxation,  and  the 
Heiress  of  David  with  her  espoused  guardian  went 
to  Bethlehem,  where  the  family  records  of  David 
were  then,  that  the  two  might  be  registered  and  en- 
rolled for  civil  purposes.  But  not  for  purposes  of 
worldly  empire  alone.  When  shall  we  learn  the 
lesson  that  Nebuchadnezzar  had  to  learn  at  such  cost 
to  himself,  "  that  the  Most  Iligii  ruleth  in  the  king- 
dom of  men."  Augustus  at  Rome  was  but  caring 
that  Christ  should  be  born  at  Bethlehem  when  he 
bade  his  scribes  issue  his  maiulate. 

"  And  so  it  was  that,  while  they  were  at  Bethle- 
hem, the  days  were  accomplisiietl  (the  fulness  of 
time  had  comk)  that  she  should  be  delivered.     Ami 


*  St.  Ronaventura quoted  by  Westcolt  in  "  The  Gospel  of  Creation." 
St.  John's  Epistles,  p.  2SS. 


II' 


i     I 


r 

if  : 


It 


'II 


i 


64 


THE    INCARNATION. 


she  brouj^ht  forth  her  Son,  the  Firstborn,  and 
wrapped  Ilim  in  swaddling  clothes,  and  laid  Him 
in  a  man<^er ;  because  there  was  no  room  for  them 
in  the  inn." 

God's  "strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness." 
"  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world 
to  confound  the  wise  ;  and  God  hath  chosen  the 
weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  that 
are  mighty." 

The  glorious  and  marvellous  news  was  first  related 
to  simple  shepherds  doing  their  duty  to  their  sheep  ; 
"  Keeping  watch  over  their  flock  by  night."  To 
them  the  message  came  by  a  solitary  angel,  "  Unto 
you  is  born  this  day  in  the  city  of  David  a  Saviour, 
which  is  Christ  the  Lord."  And  when  the  mes- 
sage was  delivered,  while  the  shepherds  were 
amazed,  the  heavens  could  not  contain  themselves 
for  joy.  The  dark  violet  curtains  of  night  were 
rolled  back,  the  stars  disappeared,  a. id  the  whole 
welkin  was  alive  with  multitudes,  multitudes  of  the 
Heavenly  host  praising  God  and  saying,  "  Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  goodwill 
toward  men." 

Ay,  and  who  can  contain  themselves  when  they 
think  of  this  exhibition  of  the  love  and  mercy  of  the 
Creator  ?  The  angels  received  an  access  of  blessed- 
ness and  benefit  from  the  conjunction  of  their  Creator 
with  His  creature  ;  the  various  divisions  and  de- 
partments of  the  Created  Universe  were  "  partakers 
of  the  benefit,"  but  how  much  more  the  whole  race 
of  man  !  Words  are  utterly  inefficient  to  express 
the  feelings  of  joy  and  gratitude  that  we  feel  at 
Christmas. 


Till-:   INCARNATION. 


65 


Glory  be  to  God  in  the  hif^hcst  !  Glory  be  to  the 
Father  Who  sent  His  Son,  glory  be  to  tiie  Son,  the 
VVord  made  Flesh  for  us,  glory  be  to  the  Holy 
(iliost  by  Whose  operation  the  Word  was  made 
Flesh. 

Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  :  as  it  was  in  the  beginning,  is  now,  and 
ever  shall  be,  world  without  end.     Amen. 


i'! 


J 


;'!' 


ill! 


I 


^   i 


LECTURE   IV. 

l'KRFp:CTrON  OF  SYMPATHY. 

"  That  which  was  from  ihe  beginninjf,  which  we  have  heard,  which 
we  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which  we  have  looked  upon,  and  our 
hands  have  handled,  of  the  Word  of  Life."— i  Sr.  John  i  :  i. 


i 

** 

l| 

'i 

1 

1 

m.  k 


Tin:  l)Ci;iiininjT-  of  tiu;  First  I*!pist.lc  of  St.  Joliii  lias 
a  «;rc'at  similarity  to  the  l)C<;imiiiii;  of  his  Ciospcl  : 
this  has  been  remarked  by  all  commentators  from 


tlie  first.     There  is,  however,  this  difference 


w 


hih 


tlie  commencement  of  tlie  Gospel  leads  up  to  the 
Incarnation,  the  Ki)istle  bej^ins  from  the  Incarnation 
and  s|)eaks  of  the  resultinj^  effects  or  responsibilities. 
As  the  later  Greek  Fathers  })oint  out,  St.  John  be- 
gins his  l^^pistle  by  claiming;  for  the  Christian  faith 
that  it  is  "  from  the  be*^innin«^  ;"  it  cannot  be  s|)oken 
of  as  new  by  the  side  of  Jew  or  Gentile  creed  ;  it 
ranks  far  before  either,  and  they  arc  inferior  in  a«^e, 
and  the  Gentile  corrupt  in  addition. 

He  claims  that  this  perfection  of  the  Incarnation 
is  the  i^roundwork  of  all  Christian  teachinij^  ;  it  is 
the  basis  of  Christian  creeds  and  Christian  morality. 
He  claims  here  the  perfection  of  the  IJody  of  the 
Incarnate  Lord,  as  he  claims  the  evidence  of  the  three 
senses  which  bear  on  the  (luestion — hearin*;',  seeing-, 
touching,  indeed,  upon  the  second  of  these — see- 
ing— he  dwells  somewhat    remarkably,    perhaps  as 


'^r 


rKKKKCTION    OK    SVMrATIIV. 


^'7 


rclcrrin^  to  tiiat  sense  to  wliicli  crcck'iicc  is  most 
commonly  u^ivcn,  but  not  only  so,  for  tlic  woril  and 
the  tense  are  both  ehan.i;ecl  and  there  is  meaninj;  in 
the  ehani^e.  Tiie  lirst  statement  "  we  luive  seen 
uitli  our  eyes,"  is  of  a  sure  personal  experience, 
while  the  second,  "  we  f^azed  upon,"  implies  careful 
investijj^ation,  steady  contemplation,  and  is  grouped 
with  "our  hands  handled,"  which  speaks  of  no 
sui)ert'icial  or  hasty  impression,  but  the  deliberate 
and  matured  assent  of  the  satisfied  senses.  Still  the 
mystery  thus  assured  was  no  modern  or  recent  de- 
velopment, it  was  "  from  the  bei;innini;,"  as  St. 
Cyril  of  Alexandria'-  said  :  "  The  mystery  of  Christ 
was  no  recent  thin<^,  but  rather  it  was  foreordained 
befjjre  the  foundation  of  the  world  as  God  foreknew 
what  would  be."  Hut  when  the  "  fulness  of  time" 
had  come,  and  the  course  of  events  was  ripe  for  the 
fresh  intervention  of  Divine  i'ower,  then  "  the  Word 
was  made  Mesh,"  by  the  oi)eration  of  the  Holy 
(ihost.  The  <^reat  stress  laid  by  St.  John  on  the 
Human  nature  of  our  Lord  shows  that  the  mind  of 
Christians  in  his  day  had  so  fully  accepted  the  super- 
natural and  superhuman  character  and  nature  of  the 
Lord  that,  as  the  Docet.e  did  m  his  own  day  and  as 
Eut3ches  did  afterward,  they  were  apt  to  ii^nore, 
or  explain  away,  or  to  minimize  the  reality  ol  His 
IJody,  and  the  intej^rity  of  His  Humanity. 

ILjoker*-  has  beautifully  rei)resented  one  reason 
i^iven  by  the  leathers,  why  God  the  Word  became 
Incarnate  rather  than  the   lloly  Ghost  ;  but  this  im- 


IP, 


*  Oil  Isaiah,  Uiok  HI..  Tom.  V.  (Isaiati  41  :  4). 
t"  licclesiastical  Polity,"  B  )3k  V.,  li  ;  g  3. 


Ml 


68 


PKRI-KCTION    OF   SYMrATIIV. 


])lics  that  the  main  reason  of  the  Incarnation  was  the 
Redemption  of  mankind.  "  It  beeame  Him  by 
Whom  all  tliinjjjs  are,  to  be  the  wav  of  salvation  to 
all,  that  the  institution  and  restitution  of  the  world 
miL;ht  both  be  wrouj^ht  by  one  lland."  St.  Athana- 
sius'^'  lias  the  same  iilea,  which  he  expresses  thus  : 
"  The  Word  alone  could  repair  and  restore  the  Im- 
aj^e  of  Cfod  in  man,  because  He  is  the  Divine  Proto- 
type. Hv  means  of  men  this  were  impossible,  for 
they  were  made  after  an  Imajj^e  ;  nor  could  it  be  by 
anf^els,  for  not  even  tiiey  are  God's  Ima^e.  .  .  .  None 
other  was  sufhcient  for  this  need,  save  tiie  Ima<jc  of 
the  leather.  The  Word  was  Redeemer  because  He 
was  the  Creator."  vSo  St.  Auij^ustine  :  "In  your 
mind  is  the  Imajj^e  of  God,  the  mind  of  man  takes  the 
Imai^c.  It  received  it  and  by  turninj^  aside  to  sin 
discolored  it.  He  that  had  previously  been  its 
Former,  Himself  comes  to  it  as  the  Reformer,  be- 
cause bv  the  Word  were  all  thinj^s  made,  and  by 
the  Word  was  the  Imaj^e  impressed  on  the  mind."  f 
The  Word  was  made  Flesh. 

Here,  then,  comes  in  a  startling-  thought,  which 
arises  out  of  this  stupendous  mystery.  The  Hcsh 
thus  assumed  by  God  the  Son  must  thus  become 
Divine.  St.  Feter,  therefore,  is  not  afraid  to  say  of 
those  who  by  Baptism  have  become  members  of 
Christ,  as  it  were  married  to  Him,  "  members  of 
His  Body,  of  His  Flesh,  and  of  His  Bones,"  that 
they  are  "  partakers  of  the  Divine  Nature."  St. 
Athanasius,:};   therefore,   relying   upon   this,   boldly 


*'*  De  Incarnatione,"xiii.,  Opera  Patavii,  1777,  Tom.  I.,  Pt.  I.,  p.  47. 
f  See  also  St.  Leo,  Serrn.  De  Pass.  Dom.,  xii. 
\  Oral.  c.  Arianos,  II.,  §  70,  Opera  I.,  p.  425. 


1' 


rKRFKCTlON    ()!■    SV.MI'A  III  V. 


6( 


says  :  "  Therefore  ilid  He  assume  the  ')rlj4;inatecl 
and  human  Body  that,,  Ijavini;  rrneuid  it  as  its 
I'^ramer,  lie  mii;ht  in  Himself  make  it  I)iviiie,  and 
thus  lead  all  of  us  into  the  Kin<;(lom  of  Ileasen  after 
His  Likeness."  And  ai^^ain,  "  I'or  He  was  made 
Man  that  I  le  mii;-ht  make  usdodsin  Himself."  And 
a<.^ain,  "  He  was  Incarnate  as  .Man,  that  we  miij^ht 
be  made  (iods."  This  is  in  and  by  intimate  union  with 
Him.  I'Or  the  Council  of  Constantinople"'  in  tiie 
seventh  century  was  not  afraid  to  say  tliat  "  ilis 
I'lesh  had  become  Deified  ;"  and  the  ]»seu(lo-Cliry- 
sostom  draws  the  natural  conclusion  that  in  conse- 
(luence  ol  this  Ilis  Body  was  "to  be  worshipped 
with  God  the  Word,  since  by  oneness  with  llim  lie 
had  Deified  it."  Therefore  is  it  that  we  worship 
llim  as  Man;  "()  Son  of  David  have  mercy  on 
us!" 

This,  however,  must  not  lead  us  to  the  ermr  of 
suj)posin<;'  that  our  Blessed  Lord  did  either  adopt  a 
phantom  Body,  or  havinii^  a(lo|)ted  a  real  body,  so 
absorbed  it  into  His  Divinity  as  to  have  piactically 
but  one  Nature  and  that  Divine.  St.  John  is  stronj^ 
in  his  protest  ai;"ainst  this,  Xot  only  does  he  say 
that  "  the  Word  was  made  b'lesh,"  not  only  "  Lvery 
spirit  that  confesseth  Jesus  Christ  come  in  Mesh  ;" 
but  also  "  they  that  confess  not  Jesus  Christ  still 
comin*^  in  Flesh,  he  is  a  deceiver  and  an  antichrist." 
The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  born  into  the  world  a 
human  bein^-  "  made  of  a  woman  ;"  He  retained  the 
intci^rity  of  His  human  nature  al!  His  life.  lie  died 
and  rose  ai^ain  with  the  same  Body,  He  c(juld  say, 


'lIHl 


*  "Labb6  Concilia,"  Tom.  VI  ,  col.  1026. 


Ill 


■ll 


70 


PKkKKCTION    OK   SVMI'ATIIY 


Behold  My  llaiiflsaiul  My  lY-ct,  that  it  is  I  Myscll 
■llaiullc  Mt'  and  see,  for  a  spirit  hath  not  I'lesh  ami 


)oiu's  as   \e  s.'e 


Ml 


Have 


II 


e   IS  stil 


eomiiif^  111 


Mesii  ;"  lie  ther(>fore  is  Perfect  Man  still.  Oh  {glori- 
ous thouL^ht  !  There  is  even  now  at  the  Ri^jht  I  land 
of  the  Majesty  on  Ilij^li,  A  MAN',  wearinj^  our  nature 
in  connnon  with  us.  Therefore  niav  we  say  with 
St.  Paul  that  "  (lod  hath  made  us  sit  toj;ether  in 
heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus." 

But  here  ai;ain  we  have  to  avoid  another  erroi", 
which  would  lead  us  to  think  that,  as  there  are  two 
Natures,  intimately  conjoined,  hut  perfectly  distinct, 
in  Christ,  so,  likewise,  there  must  he  two  Persons. 
This  error  would  cut  at  the  root  of  Christianity. 
Wc  saw  that  as  anii^els  cannot  he  said  to  have  a 
common  nature,  so  that  if  "  lie  had  taken  hold  of 
angels,"  the  benefit  would  have  been  mainly,  if  not 
wdiolly,  confined  to  the  i)articular  anjj^cl  assumed. 
Similarlv,  had  the  Lord  taken  to  Himself  the  Person 


•f 


Oi 


ll 


01  a  man,  inasmucli  as  no  one  i)erson  can  share  his 
personalitv  with  another,  that  human  Person  would 
have  been  inhnitely  advanced  and  would  have  re- 
ceived benefits  far  beyond  any  other  creature  ; 
tliouL^h  even  then  some  benefit  mii^lit  have  (to  speak 
with  deepest  reverence)  leaked  out  to  other  crea- 
tures ;  even  as  the  family  of  a  Prince  receive  some 
distinction  from  the  exaltation  of  their  relative. 
But  the  Person  of  Ciod  the  Son  took  to  Himself  the 
Nature  of  man  and  not  the  person  of  a  man.  So  that 
when  "  the  Holy  ThiuL^,"  born  of  the  \'ir<;in  Marv, 
had  attained  the  j)eriod  of  i;rowtli  when  it  achieved 
])ersonalitv,  the  Personality  was  that  of  God  the 
VV^ord.  the  Son  of  the  Father.     "  The   Mesh  and  the 


w 


PKRI-KCTION   OK    SYMPATHY. 


71 


conjunction  of  the  I'Mcsh  with  (iod  bci^an  both  at 
one  instant  ;  His  niaUiiii:^  and  takinLJ  to  Ilinisill  our 
I'Icsh  was  hut  one  act,  so  tliat  in  Christ  iIhtc  is  n» 
personal  subsistence  hut  one,  and  that  from  ever- 
histin^.  I5y  taking  only  tiie  nature  of  man  lie  still 
continueth  one  IV'rson,  and  chani,^eth  l)ut  the  man- 
ner of  His  suhsistinj^,  which  was  before  in  the  mer(^ 
»^h)rv  of  tiie  Son  of  Ciod,  and  is  now  in  tlie  hal)it  of 
our  Mesli.  .  .  .  Ciirist  is  a  Person  botii  divine  and 
liuman,  howbeit  not  tlierefore  two  Persons  in  one. 
neither  l)()tii  these  in  one  sense  ;  but  a  I'erson  (bx  ine, 
because  He  is  l\rso}ially  the  Son  of  God;  Iiuman, 
because  lie  hath  reallv  the  nature  of  the  chihhen  of 
men.  In  Christ,  therefore,  God  and  man,  '  there  is 
(saith  I'aschasius)  a  twofohl  substance  not  a  twofold 
i'erson,  because  one  lY'rson  extinij;uishetii  another, 
wiiereas  one  nature  cannot  in  anotlier  become  ex- 
tinct.* V(n'  the  j)ersonal  beiui;^  whicli  tiie  Son  of 
God  abeady  iiad  suffered  not  the  substiince  to  be 
personal  whicii  He  took,  altliou<;ii  toj^ether  with  the 
nature  wiiich  He  had,  the  nntiiri'  also  which  He  took 
continueth.  Whereupon  it  followeth  aL;ainst  Xes- 
torius  that  no  Person  was  born  of  the  Virgin  but  the 
Son  of  Ciod,  no  Pers(jn  but  the  Son  of  God  bap- 
tized, the  vSon  of  God  condemned,  the  Son  ol  God 
and  no  other  Person  crucified,  which  one  only  point 
of  Christian  belief,  the  infinite  i^'orth  of  the  Son  of 
God,  is  the  very  j^round  of  all  things  believed  con- 
cerning!^ life  and  salvaiion  by  that  which  Christ  either 
did  or  suffered  as  Man  on  our  behalf."  "  i'lierefore 
saith  our  Article  "  two  whole  and  perfect  natures — 


i 


l-t 


i,  ji 


;? 


*  Hooker,  "  Ecclesiastical  Polity,"  Book  V.,  ch.  iii.,  ,^  3. 


'■ 

Kl' 

1 

||f 

' 

¥ 

!  :> 


I 


'■*■- 1 


72 


PERFECTION   OF  SYiMPATHY. 


that  is  to  say,  the  Godhead  and  the  Manliood,  were 
joined  toi^ethcr  in  one  Person,  ufvir  to  he  divided, 
whereof  is  one  Christ,  very  Ciod  and  very  man." 
So  that  we  can  say  He  snffered,  He  was  bnried,  lie 
descended  into  Hades.  For  even  wlien  in  death  His 
Body  was  separated  from  HisSonl,  so  tluit  His  Body 
was  hiid  in  tlie  sepnlciire,  and  His  Sonl  and  Spirit 
went  to  the  place  of  departed  spirits,  and  "  preached 
to  the  si>irits  in  prison,"  yet  His  Deity  was  separated 
from  neither  Body,  Soul,  nor  Spirit.  "  The  Body 
and  Soui  still  subsisted  as  they  did  before  by  the  sub- 
sistencx'of  tiic  Second  Person  of  the  Trinity." 

It  was  a  failure  to  perceive  tliis  that  j^ave  rise  to 
the  heresy  ol  the  Nestorians.  For  if  the  Person  ol 
the  Son  of  (rod  was  born  of  the  Blessed  Virj^in,  she 
was  the  mother  of  Him  Who  is  (fod,  and  therefore 
the  Mother  of  (iod.  F'rom  this  title  they  shrank 
with  a  somewhat  natural  awe  and  dread,  and  wished 
to  express  it  by  the  phrase  Mother  of  Ciuist,  but  the 
Person  of  Clirist  was  Clod  the  Son  ;  and  when  they 
were  ))resscd  by  this  trutli,  they  soui^ht  refuse  in 
the  ij^raver  heresy  of  assertin<;  a  double  personality, 
which  is  alike  contrary  to  Scripture  and  Reason. 

"  Tlie  wSon  of  G.^d  by  His  Incarnation  chan<;ed 
the  manner  of  that  Personal  subsistence,  which  l)e- 
tore  was  solitary,  and  is  now  in  the  association  of 
Flesh,  no  alteration  thereby  accruiiii;"  to  the  nature 
of  Clod."  I  would  here  aj^ain  take  refuLi^e  ip.  the 
accurate  laiiL:^ua«;e  of  Hooker,  'Of  both  natu:\s 
there  is  a  cooperation  often,  an  association  always,  but 
never  any  mutual  i)articipation  whereby  the  proper- 
ties of  the  one  are  infused  into  the  other.  A  kind  of 
mutual  ct)mmutation  there  is  whereby  those  concrete 


i 


TERKKCTION   f)F   SVMl'ATllV. 


73 


names  CloD  and  Man,  wlicn  \vc  speak  of  Clirist,  do 
take  intercliani^eably  one  anotlicr's  room,  so  that,  for 
truth  of  speecli  it  skilleth  not  whether  we  say  tliat 
the  Son  ol  (lod  hath  ereated  the  workl,  and  the  Son 
of  Man  l)y  His  deatli  hatii  savetl  it,  or  else  that  the 
Son  of  Man  did  ereate  and  tiie  Son  ol  (lod  die  to  save 
tiie  world.  .  ,  .  When  the  Ajiostle  saith  of  the  Jews 
that  they  crneilied  the  Lord  of  i^lory,  and  when  the 
Son  o(  Man  heim;  on  earth  allirmeth  that  tiie  Son  <»l 
Man  was  in  Heaven  at  the  same  instant,  there  is  in 
tiiese  tvvo  speeehes  that  mutual  eireuiation  htlore 
mentioned.  In  tlie  one  there  is  attributed  to(»od, 
or  the  Lord  of  (llorv,  death  whereof  Divine  Nature 
is  not  eapable  ;  in  the  other  ubicputy  unto  man  whii:h 
iiumaii  nature  adm;tteth  not.  riierelore  by  the  Lord 
of  Cilory  we  must  needs  undc;rstand  the  whole  Per- 
son of  C'iirist.  and  in  like  maimer  by  the  Son  of  Man 
the  whole  Person  of  Christ  must  neeessariU  be 
meant,  \V!io  beinj^*  man  upon  earth  filled  Heaven 
with  His  ij^lorious  presenee,  but  not  aecordini;  to 
that  nature  for  which  the  title  of  ^Lln  is  given 
Him." 

Therefore  is  He  the  Son  of  Man,  aufl  not  the  Son 
of  n  man.  This  will  account  for  the  title  "  Son  of 
l.iui.  mity"  <^iven  Him  in  the  Liturj^y  of  Malabar. 
He  is  the  Representative  man,  the  last  Alam,  in 
VVh(;m  once  more  mankind  is  recapitulated, '■'  aiui 
drawn  up  to  :;.  head,  as  they  had  all  issued  from  one 
iiead,  the  lust  Adam. 

He  t:)ok  our  nature  in  the  fulness  of  its  inteirrity. 
He   had   a   perfect    IJody,    and    lie   has  it   now.     In 


•  ■  1 

■'  1   '    ,  1  j 

Ik 

1   . 

'    J 

1' 


Ephesians  i  :  lo. 


ill 


I      m  I 


i 


* 


74 


I'ERFKCTION   OF   SYMPATHY. 


ordiT  1.)  have  pcM-fcct  syinj)atliy  with  us  lie  took  our 
uatuic  froMi  its  very  tlireshold.  Man  was,  as  our 
Article  corrcctlv  exj)resses  it,  "  very  far  j^one  from 
original  rii^hteousuess  ;"  not  as  some  inaccurate  tlie- 
ol()i;ians  speak,  utterlv  depraved  and  incajjable  of 
ij^race.  Had  tiiis  l)een  true,  tlie  Incarnation  would 
ha\('  been  impossible  as  a  partakini^  of  our  nature. 
There  m;^-lit  have  been  a  fresh  Creation  from  the 
dust  of  the  jj^round,  but  He  would  not  then  have 
"tabernacled  in  us  ;"  it  would  not  have  been  true, 
"  forasmuih  then  as  the  cliildrcn  are  partakers  of 
llesh  and  blood,  He  also  Ilimself  likewise  took  pait 
of  the  same."  This  was  seen  froiu  tiie  hrst,  as  said 
St.  Irenaiis  :*  "If  the  hrst  Adam  was  taken  from 
the  earth,  and  (iod  was  his  Maker,  it  was  necessary 
that  He  also  that  was  summed  uj)  into  him  shovdd 
be  made  man  bv  (iod  and  have  the  same  likeness  of 
orii^in  ris  the  former.  Why,  then,  did  not  God  ai^ain 
take  (lust,  but  rather  (jrdained  that  the  foimation 
should  take  i>lace  Irom  Mary?  It  was  that  there 
mij;ht  not  be  one  thiui;  formed  and  another  thinj^ 
saved,  but  that  one  and  the  same  mii^ht  be  leca- 
l)itulated  (or  summed   upi,   the   likeness  beinj^   i>re. 


serve( 


There  was,  then,  in  man  somewhat  on  which  (iod 
could  take  hold  and  build  up  a  sinless  Bodv. 

Here,  then,  must  we  avoid  two  errors,  one  on 
either  hand.  The  one  would  tliink  it  necessarv  that 
the  "glorious  and  uui(pie  Hlessedness  of  the  \'ir«^in 
Mary  should  be  extended  to  her  mother,  and  that 
Mary  alsf)  should  be  conceived  without  spot  of  sin. 


St.  Ir«n;ius,  III.,  21  iJ  fn..  Opera,  Paris,  1710,  p.  21S. 


■iji 


i 


I'KkFKCTlON   OK   SYMPATHY 


75 


Hut  herfr  the  iir^imicnt  of  St.  Atliaiiasius,  with  re- 
s[>c<;t  to  the  Ariaii  iiiiscoiiccptiDii  ol  tlic  Mediator, 
will  holrj  :((K)(1.  Tliey  said  that  the  ereatiires  of 
themselves  were  far  too  weaiv  to  endure  the  force  of 
the  Father^  crcatinjjf  power,  therelore  tlie  Sou  was 
a  created  Mediator.  But,  said  St.  Alhauasius,  this 
does  linf  drive  tiie  ditruidtv  a  Httle  laither  back, 
and  to  *»atisfv  this  ol)iectioii  there  must  he  au  iulmity 
of  Me'liators.  Theu  lie  exclaims,  "  What  extraor- 
dinary nonsense  all  this  is  I"  It.  tlieu.  lor  the  honor 
of  our  Lord  it  is  necessarY  that  His  HKsscd  Mother 
should  have  been  conceived  and  born  without  s})ot 
of  sill,  this  does  but  diive  the  ditficult\  a  little  farther 
hack.  lint  we  tiud  that  almost  as  a  warnini;-  St. 
Matthew  in  the  /'<;i,''r// iLi^enealoi^v  ol  our  Ulrssed  Lord, 
most  unusually  Inserts  the  names  ol  loui-  women, 
each  of  whom  has  some  blot  or  stain  (»l  character  : 
incestuous  Thamar,  the  harlot  Kahab,  the  Moabitess 
Ruth,  the  adulterous  Bathsheba.  The  purity  ah 
initio  of  the  last  link  is  no  more  necessarv  than  that 
of  previous  links.  Kemaik,  too.  that  though  the 
main  stock  or  trunk  ol  the  tree  ol  jesst'  was  cut 
down  and  onlv  the  stump  remained,  though  the  line 
of  Solomon  alter  the  llesh  was  cut  dowu  and  his 
idolatrous  seed  were  exterminated,  as  would  seem 
probable,  vet  as  St.  Luke  shows  in  his //^////rr?/ L(en- 
caIo«;y  of  our  Lord,  tlie  descent  l)\-  natural  birth 
was  from  Nathan  the  v'»uni;-er  son  ol  |)a\id  bv  the 
same  arlulteress  Bathshel)a,  so  that  this  arL^ument 
cannot  be  put  on  one  side  bv  assumiu:^'  St.  Luke's 
{.^enealoi^v  to  be  more  cornet.  Tliei,,  ai^ain,  the 
I^ord  jesus  would  be  isolated  Irom  us,  and  I  h'  woidd 
not  be  in  perfect  touch  ajxl  sympathy  with  us  if  the 


('I 


rrr 


'!'  ifa;  U 


R^'t' 


I'll  - 


1 


76 


rKKMX  TION    OK    SYMPATIIV 


Opinion  of  t.lic  Iinniaciilatc  Conception  of  tlic  Blessed 
X'irij^in    Mary   were  a   trntli   of  Ciod  and   tl)c;iefore  a 


necessary  ( 


loct 


rme 


Ontlie  oilier  liand,  a  far  more  terrible  irroi- lias 
apjieared  lirsl  in  this  century  ;  it  is  so  lioriihle  that 
lew   have   ever   spoken   o 


)f  it.     Tl 


le   very 


•ilteil   l)iit 


straiiiie 


i-:d 


wan 


1    I 


rvin<r 


!->» 


fr 


oin    whose   eoiiLi"re<iation 


the  so-called  "  irvinj^'ites"  took  their  rise,  invented 
the  notion  that  our  Lord  took  to  Ilinisell  a  hody  of 
sinfnl  flesh,  ol  fallen  luimanity.  'I'his  has  only  to  be 
mentioned  to  be  rejected  with  abhorrence. 

The  Incarnate  Lord,  then,  had  a  j)erlect  Body,  sub- 
ject to  inlinnities  but  not  delects.  It  was  sha|)ed 
atid  born  ;    it  i-rew  in  si/e  and  stieiii'th  ;    it  ate  and 


drank 


move( 


woi 


ked, 


aiH 


walked 


himireref 


thirsted  ;  became  faint  and  weary  ;  slept,  suffered, 
died.  But  we  do  not  believe  that  He  assumed  an\ 
personal  defect  such  as  disease. 

lie  had  also  a  Human  Soul,  the  seat  ol  the  affec- 
tions. One  ancient  heresy  (that  of  Ajxiirmaris)  Irom 
an  endeavor  to  explain  the  Incarnation,  attempted 
to  ari^ue  that  one  part  of  the  invisible  nature  <>t  man. 


the 


reasonal)le  sou 


w 


as  lackinii-  in   the  Saviour, 


an 


(1    that    the    Person    ol    (iod    the    Woid    took    its 


)lace.       But     this    vie 


w    w 


as    condeinn(;d,    for    then 


there  would  not  be  perfect  sympathy  with  mankind, 
and  such  a  view  would  leave  one  j)art  of  man's  nature 
unredeemetl.  I'he  soul  is  that  part  ol  man  which 
sides  with  t!ie  llesh  or  spirit,  whiche\er  is  the 
stroiiij^er,  and  therefon^  often  in  the  stru_ni;le  the 
soul  is  troubled.  Therefore,  when  there  was  for  a 
time  a  strun\i;le  between  the  Divine  and  ilunian  will 
in  the  Saviour,  lie  could  say,  "  My  soul  is  exccedinj;^ 


■  I   1 


T'KUKKCTION    OK   SVMI'AIUV. 


17 


sorrowful,  tvcii  imto  dtiitli,"  as  I  Ic  had  hclorc,  "  M  v 
soul  is  (roiil)lc(l  :ni(l  what  shall  I  sav  ?" 

He  liaci  also  a  lluman  Sj»irit.     J'hcrc  do'^'s  not.  a|)- 
pcar  suHicicMitly  i^ood   reason   foi-  doiihliii^  that  St. 
Luke  wrote  ol  the  I  loly  Child  jesusasoi  lliseousin 
John,  "  The  Child  <^rew  and  waxed  stmnL;  in  Sj)irit, 
tilled   with    wisdom."     The  i)assai;i'  is  a   remarkable 
one,  showini;-  tiie  <;ra(lnal  ^lowthot  the  llidv  Child, 
shtjwiiii;-  the  reality  ol    His  manhood.     "The   Child 
was  continually  ^rowiiiL;',  and  beini;"  strengthened  in 
Spirit,  heinjj^  tilled  with  Wisdom."     It  was  a  L;ia(lual 
|)r()ccss,  as   in    the    human    inlant.      Then,   as   in    the 
Ma!L;iulieat,    the    iJlesscd    Virgin    said,    "Mv    spirit 
hath  lejoiic'd  ;"  so  we   read   of  lu-r  Son,  "  Jesus  i"e- 
joiced  in  Spirit."     So  of  deep  sadness  at  sin  ukJ  sor- 
row around    Him,    we   read   one   w!iile"lle  sighed 
deeply  in    Mis  Sjiirit,"  another  while  "  lie  groaned 
in  the  Spirit  and   was  troubled."     .\t    his  death  He 
said,    "  lather,    into     I'hy    Hands    I    commend    .My 
Spirit  ;"  and  then  the  separation   from  the  tiammels 
ol  the  body  conununicated  new  enerj^y  to  His  Spirit. 
He  was  theieh)re  "  (|uiekened  in  the  Spiiil,  in  which 
also    He    went    and     preached     unto    the    sjjirits    in 
j)rison." 

He  was  perfect  man.  He  <^rew  in  body,  He  was 
i^radually  stri'nL;thened  in  Spirit,  He  wa^  bi'ini;  tilled 
with  wisdom.  He  learned.  He  asked  (juestions,  He 
niaryelled.  Hut  we  do  not  re.ul  that  He  ey(;r  fori^ot. 
When  we  are  told  that  lie  asked  what  should  be  done, 
we  are  specially  told  'that  this  wa<  to  proyc  His 
Al)()stlc,  for  He  Himself  knew  what  lit;  would  do." 
Hence  it  would  appiarthat  He  ne\er  took  counsel 
for  Himself  ;   He  may  have  done  so  as  an  example  to 


m 
W 


I 


7S 


I'KKIKCI  ION    or   SVMI'ATIIV 


'4' 


US. 


but    not    for    Ilimsell,    "for   lie   Himself  kiie 


w 


what  I  Ic  would  do," 

Here,  tlien,  tliere  must  be  a  warninjj^  aj^aiiist  an 
error  whicli  is  now  comiiii;  more  and  more  to  the 
front.  I'iie  ])lirase  of  St.  I'aul,  vviiieli  is,  indeed, 
liard  to  l)e  understood,  "lie  made  Himself  of  no 
reputation."  is  beinj^  submitted  to  a  strain  u  hieh  the 
eomparison  with  other  Scripture  would  hardlv  allow 
the  words  to  bear.  The  Cireek  is  "  emptied  Him- 
self"— that  is  (as  Bishop  Li^iitfoot  exjdains  it), 
"stripped  Himself  ol  the  insii;niii  ot  Majesty. "  St. 
Iren;eus  seenis  to  have  had  this  in  his  mind  in  writ 


m*: 


!• 


or 


a> 


Hi 


\\' 


as    man    that    He    miirht   be 


temjjted,  so  also  was  He  the  Word,  that  He  niiglit 
be  <^loritie(l  ;  the  W'oril  rruiniiiiiig (ji(iisi\'iil,  while  He 
was  beiuL;-  tempted,  dishonored,  crueihed,  and  dying 


)?  ' 


but  being  associated  with  His  manhood  when  it  over- 
came, and  was  patient,  and  was  doing  good,  and  rose 


agam  and   was  received  u\). 


Tl 


us  IS  a  iiooo  com- 


mentary on  St,  I'aul,     We  must  always  bear  in  mind 

wluit   has   been    beautifulU'   ex])ressed   as    follows  :+ 

It  is  vain  to  try  to  express  in  words  that  ol  which 

nothing   but  the  (ios[)els   oi)en    before   us  can  ade- 


)n 


(piately  cony(;y  the  extent,  the  impression  left  ( 
our  minds  of  One  Who  all  the  while  He  was  on 
eaith  was  in  heart  and  soul  and  thougiit  undivided 
for  a  moment  from  Heaven.  He  does  wiiat  is  most 
human,    but    He    lives    absolutely    in    the    Divine. 


Ui 


t->» 


However  we  see   Him-  tempted,  teaching,  heali 
comforting  ho[)eless  sorrow,   sitting  at  meat  at  the 

•Adv.  IliiT.,  III.,  K).  Opera,  Pans,  1710,  p,  212, 
f  "  Gifis  of  Civilizalion,"     Seimons  by  R.  W.  Church,  Dean  of  St. 
Paul's,  pp.  91,   100. 


•  P' 


PKRri:(  TION   OF   SVMPATHV. 


79 


wcddiiii^  or  tlic  feast,  rcl)ukin5^  tlic  hypocrites,  in 
the  wilderness,  in  the  temple,  in  the  pussover  cluirn- 
ber,  on  the  cross — He  of  Wlioni  we  are  readinj^  is  all 
the  while  that  which  Mis  own  words  can  alone  cx- 
})ress,  'ever  the  Son  of  Man  Which  is  in  Heaven.' 
The  Divine  Presence,  the  Union  with  the  Father,  is 
about  Him  always,  like  the  li^ht  and  air,  ambient,  in- 
visible, yet  incapable  ever  in  thoui^ht  of  beinj^  awa}'." 
"  The  Cios[)els  show  us  One  with  the  j^reatest  of 
works  to  do,  a  Work  so  i^reat  that  it  sounds  unbe- 
comiui;  to  qualify  it  with  (jur  ordinary  words  for 
greatness  ;  One  never  diverted  from  His  work,  never 
losini^  its  clew,  never  impatient,  never  out  of  heart, 
Who  cries  not,  nor  strives,  nor  makes  haste  ;  One 
Whose  eye  falls  with  sure  truth  and  clear  decision 
on  everythin<^  in  the  many-colored  scenes  of  lile  ; 
One  around  Whom,  as  He  })a3ses  throui^h  the  world, 
all  thin<^s  that  stir  man's  desire  and  ami)iti()n  take 
their  real  shape,  and  relative  place,  and  fmal  value  ; 
One  to  whom  nothinj^  of  what  we  call  loss  or  «;ain  is 
so  much  as  worth  taking  account  of  in  competition 
with  that  for  which  He  lived." 

This  is  what  the  Cros[)els  reveal  to  us  ;  we  must 
then  be  careful  to  avoid  the  error  which  would  sug- 
gest in  some  way  that  our  Blessed  Lord  somehow 
laid  aside  I  lis  attributes  or  essential  character  as 
God,  which  He  resumed  at  t!ic  Resurrection  and 
Ascension,  having  praved  for  this  in  His  High 
l*riestly  Prayer  at  the  Mvsterious  Last  Supper. 

He  is  perfect  ^fan  :  "  He  knoweth  whereof  we  are 
made,"  by  personal  experience.  He  has  perfect  sym- 
{)athy  with  mankind  in  everything  :  not  in  individual 
eccentricities,  but  in   that   which   is  common  to  all. 


I" 


1^ 


it 

It 


I* 


)     i 


I 


80 


I'KKIF.CTION    OK   SYMPATHY. 


Therefore  was  it  that.  He  entered  the  line  of  "  trans- 
mitted liiiinanity"  ratlier  tlian  assumed  a  new  crea- 
tion outsi<le  that  wiiieh  already  existed. 

Some  few  [)oints  of  this  perfect  sjinpathy  must 
here  be  spoken  of,  that  hv  these  we  may  learn  all  ;  it 
were  impossible  in  a  short  lecture  to  treat  of  all.  In- 
deed, it  may  be  said  that  it  is  im[)ossiblc  for  any  one 
man  to  deal  with  all.  The  Lord  was  in  perfect  s^ni- 
[)athy  with  all  men,  of  all  places,  of  all  times.  An 
Eastern  will  find  points  of  sympathy  which  would 
not  be  observed  by  a  Western  ;  a  modern  man  will 


rejoice  oyer  contmually  discovered  poi 


;red 


in 


ts  of 


sy 


m- 


pathy  which  were  passed  over  by  the  ancients.  It 
vvouUl  then  be  im[)ossil)le  for  one  UKin  to  ^rasj)  that 
which  is  infinite  in  its  i)ossil)ilities.  As  it  is,  the  re- 
proach of  the  Oriental  seeker  after  Christ  is  too  well 


lese 


rved 


Christ  we  know  is  neither  of   the  luist 


nor  of  (he  West,  but  men  have  localized  what  Ciod 
meant  to  be  universal." 

First,  then,  we  will  speak  of  one  [)()int  which  has  'u 
modern  times  been  objected  to  the  perfection  of  our 
Lord's  I  luman  character.  It  has  been  said  that  per- 
fection cannot  be  ascribed  to  I  lis  Humanity  "from 
the  absence  of  mirth  and  of  lauj^hter  as  its  natural 
and  genial  manifestation."  The  objection  is  worthy 
of  remark  and  of  consideration  if  well  founded. 

It  is  remarkable  that  when  He  was  on  earth  the 
Lord  suffered  the  reproach  of  sympathizing  too 
much  with  men  in  their  times  of  mirth  and  joy,  as 


well  as  in 


th 


eir  sorrows  aiu 


Man  (He  says  of  Himself)  is 


in 
w 


g. 


an( 


y 


c  s: 


Behold  ! 


a  g 


I  pains.  "  The  Son  of 
come  eating  and  drink- 
ttonous  man  and  a 


ine  bibber."     It  was  John  the  Baptist  that  was 


1^' 


PKkMU HON   Ol'    SYMPATHY. 


8i 


represented  us  tlie  morose  man,  standiii;^  alool  from 
tlie  ordinarv  joys  of  mankind  ;  of  liiin  llu- same  critit.s 
said  :   "  1  Ic  liatli  a  devil." 

It  has  passed  into  a  proverb  that  it  is  recorded 
tliat  the  Lord  Jesns  wept,*  l)ut  never  recor«ied  that 
lie  smiled,  and  no  doubt  tiiis  is  true.  Hut  ih)  thor- 
ou^li  student  of  historv  would  maintain  that  because 
a  thin^^is  not  recorded  therefore  it  never  iiai>pened  ; 
and  in  our  IJiessed  Lord's  case  more  has  been  deniid 
that  is  recorded  than  allirmed  to  have  taken  place 
which  has  not  l)een  recorded. 

Uncjuestionably  we  must  remember  that  ihi*  Last- 
ern  mind  in  adult  aj^e,  aye  and  even  in  childluiod,  is 
essentially  i^rave  and  serious.  I'he  I'^asteiii  babes 
that  1  have  seen  seemed  tome  preternaturall)'  serious 
and  ai)athetic.  in  I'^LCypt  they  would  not  even  brush 
away  the  manv  Hies  that  settled  about  the  eyes  to 
drink  the  moisture  of  the  tear.  iJut  this  is  no  an- 
swer to  the  objection  ;  because  this  is,  it  may  be,  a 
local  peculiarity,  an  eccentricity,  and  not  a  coniinon 
characteristic  of  humanity.  It  is  (piite  true  that  the 
sober  moralist  of  the  I'^ast  said,  "  1  said  of  laughter, 
it  is  mad  ;  and  of  mirth,  What  doeth  it  ?'  f  l>>'f  -'t  the 
same  time  Scripture  y^ives  many  instances  of  j^reat 
humor,  which  is  akin  to  mirth. 

How  deeply  hunu)rous  is  the  reail\  .mswer  of 
[oash  in  delenceof  his  son  (iideon  !  When  the  peo- 
ple, anu^ry  at  the  profanation  of  the  idol  altar,  de- 
manded the  death  of  Ciideon,  joash  at  on':e  answered 
them   with   ironical  humor,    which   was  accepleil  as 


iM' 


!{:; 


is: 


*  See  St.  Bernard,  De  Adv.  Don.,  Serin.  W .,  jiixf^i  jhi. 
\  Ectlesiasies  2  :  2,  c(.  3  :  4. 
6 


82 


I'KKM'.CTION   OF   SYMI'ATIIV. 


n 


ii 


iinanswoni 


1)1( 


What  I  (he  seemed  to  sav^l  arc  there 


any    wlm  iiic  so  |)r(;sumi)tii()iis  as  to  siijjposc 


Baal 


caiHiot  |)l(';i(l  for  liiinscll  I  IJaal  powerless  !  liriiif^ 
tlie  iiKin  w  ho  (hires  to  say  this  foivvard  and  let  him 
be   put    to   ileath    rij^ht   away    wiiile  the  (hiy   is  yet 


yoimu 
one 


,.  I' 


Ih 


le  only   ari/utnent   here  is  a  humorous 


Tl 


le  same  sense  oi   iiumor  seems 


f  li 


to  1 


lave  Deen 


hereditai\,  for  it  reapi)ears  in  tlie  lierec  mood  of 
(lideon.  When  in  stress  of  excitement  he  threateneil 
tlie  men  of  Sueeotli,  lie  ivieant  what  he  said  in  answer. 
IJut  when  hr  returned  in  triumph  as  eontpieror,  his 
an;:;er  is  tinned  with  ^rim  humor;  and  his  father's 
sayin.^"  inakt  s  us  feel  that  the  rcadinii^  of  the  liihle  of 
the  I'!nL;lish  Churcli  is  |)rol)al)ly  correct,  (iideon 
"  took  tliorns  of  the  wilderness  and  briers,  and  with 
them    he    caused    to    know    the    men    of    Succoth." 


ri 


lose  w 


hn    I 


lave 


had 


personal  experience  o 


f  "  tl 


le 


thorns  of  the  wildeiness"  will   realize  the  humor  of 


the  phiase.      The 

f  i«:i 


o 


IS 


n  what  humor  there  is  in  the  irony 
ijah  :'•  "  Cry  aloud  :  for  he  is  a  ^od  ;  either  he 
talking,  oi"  he  is  ])ursuin<j;',  or  he  is  in  a  journey, 
or  peradventure  he  sleepeth,  and  must  be  awaked." 
Nor,  indeed,  does  the  moralist  refuse  lau,i;hter  alto- 
j^ether  ;  he  says  :  "  There  is  a  time  to  weep,  and  a 
ticne  to  launh,"  but  he  agrees  for  man  here  on  earth, 
"  Sorrow  is  better  than  lauL(hter,"  and  the  "  house 
of  mourniii'L:;  better  than  the  house  of  feastin*^,"  be- 
cause, as  he  says, 
wine  makcth  merry 


a  feast  is  made  for  lauiihter.  and 


11 


lere  need  be  nothintr  wronsf 


in  mirth,  then,  because  the   Eastern  apathetic  mind 

despises  him 

"  Whose  lungs  are  tickle  o'  the  sere." 


I  Kings  i8  ;  27. 


''1!" 
lii 


rKRKia  TION    OK    SVMI'ATIIY. 


83 


ir 


Let  us  aj^rcc,  then,  that  the  css(;ntial  emotion  of 
which  mirth  and  hm^hter  are  th(.'  outward  exjires- 
sion  is  a  part  of  our  moral  nature.*  John  Kehle,  tl»e 
{generally  reputed  saint  of  our  times  in  our  C'om- 
immion,  was  full  of  fim  and  mirth.  The  moral  ele- 
ment is  nothiu};^  hut  joy  and  gladness,  which  are  only 
evil  when  in  synipathy  with  sin  or  somethinij  sin- 
ful. Of  this  mirth  and  lau;;hter  arc  the  outward  ex- 
j)ression,  and  therefore  accidental  accompaniinents. 
The  infant  will  lauj^h  from  sheer  joy  of  life,  a^  the 
younj;-  of  all  animals  hound  and  nanihol,  while  others 
around  the  infant  will  laui;h  and  smile  fron>  sym- 
pathetic joy,  for  mirth  is  infectious.  To  this  joy  and 
^dadm^ss  (the  "gladness  of  life,  '  as  Scripture  hath 
it)  a  stimulus  is  j^iven  by  the  exhilaration  atising 
from  food  and  wine.  There  is  nothinj^  wroni;-  here 
when  there  is  no  excess.  The  grace  after  food  com- 
mended hy  St.  Chrysostomf  is  a  remarkable  proof 
that  tliat  ascetic  saint  regarded  physical  exhilaration 
from  food  as  a  blessing  from  (iotl.  "  I'hou,  Lonl, 
/idsf  tnadc  ine glad  \\\X(n\\[^\  Thy  works."  Here  there 
seems  a  distinct  reference,  rightly  or  wrongly,  to 
the  "  wine  that  makcth  glad  the  heart  of  man  ;' 
which,  as  St.  I'aul  would  tell  us,  is  one  of  the  good 
creatures  or  works  of  (iod.  This  joy  and  gladness 
is  stimulated  at  times  by  physical  enjoyment,  and 
often  hnds  outward  expression  in  mirth  and  laugh- 
ter, riie  essence  of  the  emotion  would  seem  to  be 
sympathetic  gladness.  The  "  many  twinkling  smiles 
of  Ocean"  betoken   the  depths  beneath  ;   mirth  and 


i    I 


k 


*  See  St.  Clement,  Alex.,  Pad.  II.  v.,  Potter,  Tom.  I.,  p.  k/j. 
f  III  Psalm  41,  Opera,  Tom.  V.,  p.  1331. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


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18 


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Sciences 

Corporatioii 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


,^ 


i 


H 


PKRFFXTION  OF   SYMPATHY. 


lauj^htcr  are  but  the  surface  ripples  which  tell  of  joy 
and  j^ladness  within,  and  when  there  is  no  sin  and 
wronfj^  connected  with  that  inner  gladness  there  is 
none  to  be  found  in  the  outward  manifestation. 

Now  our  Lord  took  our  nature  from  its  very  in- 
ception, and  the  only  glimpses  we  have  of  I  lis  life 
before  His  ministry  go  to  prove  that  I  le  was  very 
man,  among  human  beings  of  Mis  own  age.  As  an 
infant  "  the  Child  was  continually  growing,  and 
being  strengthened  in  spirit,  being  [gradually]  filled 
with  wisdom."  He  was  as  other  infants  ;  the  same 
words  are  used  of  His  cousin  John.  The  next  glimpse 
we  have  when  He  was  twelve  years  old.  But  how 
natural  it  all  is  !  When  the  caravan  was  on  its  return 
to  Galilee,  even  the  Blessed  Virgin  took  for  granted 
that  the  Holy  Child  was  somewhere  in  the  company. 
He  was  so  like  an  ordinary  lad  that  she  thought  He 
was  with  some  of  His  mates.  She  thought  lie  was 
wandering,  as  any  restless  boy  might,  seeking  for 
amusement,  seeking  for  interest.  It  is  all  very  won- 
derful, but  it  shows  how  human  He  was.  It  is  ut- 
terly different  from  the  noxious  romances  called 
"  Apocryphal  Gospels."  We  cannot,  then,  srppose 
that  He  was  so  unlike  other  human  infants  that  He 
did  not  sanctify  childhood  by  particii)ating  in  its 
natural  character  of  healthful  joy.  It  seems  impos- 
sible to  su})pose  that  He  did  not  answer  with  sym- 
pathetic smile  to  the  holy  joy  of  His  V^irgin  Mother, 
If  He  ever  manifested  this  joy  of  life  as  a  child,  the 
emotion  must  have  been  in  Mis  nature. 

But  poetry  says  otherwise  :* 


*  Mrs.  drowning. 


■  I 


PERFECTION   OF   SYMPATHY 


85 


"  No  small  Babe  smiles  my  watching  heart  has  seen 
To  float  like  speech  the  speechless  lips  between." 

"  This  aspect  of  a  Child, 

Who  never  sinned  or  smiled." 

This  may  be  poetry  ;  it  is  not  scriptural  or  liistori- 
cal.  It  is,  indeed,  a  rather  morbid  view,  and  cannot 
be  accepted  as  api)roachino;  verisimilitude.  John 
Keble,  in  his  Prelections  as  professor  ol  poetry,  ex- 
tolled the  poetry  of  the  painter  who  excpiisitely 
rendered  the  Holy  Child  in  His  mother's  arms  lar<;er 
and  more  intellectual  than  nature  would  warrant. 
Such  may  be  poetry,  it  is  not  history  ;  there  we  may 
not  draw  upon  our  imagination  for  our  facts.  The 
morbid  fancy  of  a  poet  is  no  proof  that  the  Holy 
Babe  did  not  smile.*  It  would  seem  doul)tful 
whether  any  mother  could  say  that  the  Babe  did  not 
smile.  The  whole  account  of  His  Infancy  is  so 
human  that  the  burden  of  proof  lies  with  tlie  i^ain- 
sayer. 

But  j)assing  by  this  accident  of  the  essential  emo- 
tion— that  is,  the  outward  ex[)ressi()n  of  mirth,  wc 
do  find  sure  symptoms  of  sympathetic  gladness  in 
our  Lord's  character. 

But  before  speaking  of  these  we  must  bear  in  mind 
the  terrible  physical  strain  of  continiu)us  weariness 
on  our  Lord's  Human  Body.     From  the  time  of  His 


*  On  the  other  hand  may  be  cited  the  Christmas  hymn 

"  For  He  is  our  chiklhood's  Pattern, 
Day  by  d.>y  like  us  He  grew  : 
He  was  little,  we;ik,  and  helpless, 
Tears  and  smiles,  like  us.  He  knew  ; 
And  He  feeieth  for  our  sadness. 
And  He  sharcth  in  our  gladness." 


1^i 


21. 
f  I 


H 


i 


'  '■''lyr ' 

i 

i; 

I 

! 

i 
t 

a  *  3'' 


86 


PERFECTION   OF  SYMPATHY. 


Ba[)tisin  and  Confirmation,  and  His  subsequent  forty 
days'  fast,  throughout  the  years  of  His  ministry  till 
His  sinking  to  rest  upon  the  Cross,  was  a  period  of 
unl)r()ken  weariness,  and  of  such  mental  strain,  in 
daily  contact  with  sinful  men  around  Him,  as  we  can 
have  no  distant  conception  of ;  and  this  alone  would 
have  been  physiologically  antagonistic  to  outward 
ex[)ression  of  mirth. 

Still  we  have  constant  reference  to  gladness  in  the 
Lord's  i)arables  ;  in  the  lost  sheep  and  the  lost 
piece  of  money,  when  the  recovery  of  the  lost  is 
celebrated  by  calling  the  neighbors  together  to  re- 
joice over  the  success,  and  sympathetic  joy  is  spoken 
of  as  existing  among  the  angels  of  God  ;  and  in  many 
other  i)arables.  His  Presence  at  a  marriaire  feast 
showed  this  sympathy.  He  must  have  gone  straight 
from  His  forty  days'  fast  and  two  or  three  days'  so- 
journ near  the  seen?  of  His  forerunner's  ministry  to 
the  marriage  feast  with  his  newly-acquired  disciples. 
He  would  not  have  gone  thither  to  be  a  damper  on 
their  joy  on  so  mirthful  an  occasion.  Nay,  He 
showed  His  full  sympathy  in  their  joy  and  gladness 
by  His  first  miracle,  whereby  He  prevented  the  poor 
bridegroom  from  being  put  to  shame  in  his  seven 
days'  feast  by  lack  of  that  which  helped  to  make  up 
their  little  satisfaction.  He  performed  His  first 
miracle  to  show  His  sympathetic  gladness  with  the 
joy  of  the  feast,  and  gave  His  host  one  hundred  and 
forty  gallons  of  that  "  which  maketh  glad  the  heart 
of  man."  Then,  again,  there  is  His  reference  to 
childhood's  light-heartedness  :  *'  We  have  piped  unto 
you,  and  you  have  not  danced  ;  we  have  mourned 
unto  you,  and  you  have  not  lamented."    This  could 


'rr 


If! 


PERFECTION   OF   SYMPATHY. 


87 


not  have  been  said  liad  He  not  synipathv  witli  inno- 
cent gladness  and  mirth.  Nor  can  we  exchide  from 
this  ar^^nment  tlie  Lord's  jj^reat  h)ve  for  little  chil- 
dren, Whose  characteristic  in  health  and  lox  in<;-  en- 
vironment is  merry  mirthfulness."  Thus,  while  the 
self-control  and  staidncss  of  our  Lortl's  character 
was  in  perfect  sympatliY  with  the  Eastern  mind, 
there  is  sut'hcient  intimation  that  He  was  also  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  innocent  lij^ht-heartedness  of  mirth. 

However,  let  us  feel  well  assured  that  our  IJlessed 
Lord's  Humanity  is  a  perfect  humanity,  and  if  we  in 
our  feebleness  do  not  at  the  moment  see  the  exact 
answer  to  an  objection,  we  may  feel  that  without 
doubt  it  is  suscejitible  of  a  complete  refutation.  In 
this  case,  indeed,  wc  may  feel  that  objectors  must  be 
hard  up  indeed  for  an  argument,  wdien  lack  of  mirth- 
fulness  and  laughter  is  cast  up  against  the  jjcrfection 
of  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ,  \Vc  feel  that  we  may 
have  spent  too  much  time  over  the  objection,  but 
the  reason  is  that  it  has  not  commonly  been  noticec'. 

Another  point  of  perfect  sympathy  which  j)resents 
a  difficulty  is  the  Lord's  gradual  growth  out  of 
ignorance,  and  indeed  the  fact  of  His  ignorance  alto- 
gether. How  could  it  be  possible  that  the  Person  of 
God  the  Son  could  in  any  wav  be  ignorant  when  He 
was  the  Wisdom  of  God  ?  Still  here,  again,  we  see  the 
perfection  of  His  Manhood.  He  made  acxjuaintance 
with  the   weakness  of  our  understandimr,  while,  at 


the 


same  tune,  as 


St.  I 


ren.-eus  says 


lys 


The  Word  was 


quiescent."     This  growth  could  not  have  affected  the 
infinite  knowled<re  of  God  the  Son  anv  more  than 


M^ 


1 


*  See  Appendix  K. 


[\'.\ 


88 


PERFKCTIOX    OF    SYMPATHY. 


•growth  of  Body  could  have  affected  the  infinity  of 
Mis  Inc()ini)reheiisible  Majesty.  The  Fathers  dis- 
cussed tlie  (juestioii  continually,  and  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  lie  was  i<;norant  only  as  man,  and  so  far 
forth  as  knowledge  came  to  Him  throu<;h  His  man- 
hood. Thus  **  thouj^h  lie  were  a  Son,  yet  learned 
He  obedience  by  the  thini^s  which  \\(i  suffered ;"  i.e., 
He  learned  as  Man,  for  as  Man  alone  could  He  suffer, 
and  Icarniiii^  implies  advance  in  knowledg^e,  and 
therefore  implies  comparative  ignorance  at  least.* 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Lord's  Hodv  was  not 
subject  to  disease,  because  it  was  a  }>crfect  Body. 
We  do  not  any  u  here  read  tliat  He  was  subject  to 
sickness  of  Body,  and  indeed  there  urc  two  a  priori 
reasons  why  we  should  expect  that  He  would  ex- 
perience immunity  from  sickness.  The  one  would 
be  drawn  from  the  perfect  sinlessness  of  His  Body, 
the  other  from  His  j^erfect  svmpathy  with  man. 
For  first  of  all,  <;enerally  speakinj^,  sickness  arises 
from  some  effort  of  nature  to  extrude  some  defect  of 
body,  w  hether  originally  existiuL^  or  imj)arted  from 
udthout.  But  the  Lord's  Body  was  perfectly  free 
from  orij^inal  defect  ;  and  so  far  was  it  from  being 
receptive  of  infection  or  poison  from  without,  that 
it  derived  such  vitality  from  its  union  with  God, 
that  its  touch  was  the  source  of  health  to  others. f  So, 
again,  the  Lord  had  perfect  sympathy  with  man — not 
with  this  or  that  man,  but  with  mankind  at  large. 
Now,  humanly  speaking,  it  were  ini})ossible  that  the 


*  See  Appendix  L. 

f  For  the  case  of  the  leper  healed  by  the  Lord,  it  is  noteworthy 
that  each  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels  records  that  He  touc/ied  the  leper 
(St.  Matthew  8  :  3  ;  St.  Mark  i  :  41  ,  St.  Luke  5  :  13). 


i 


MMMi 


PKKFI'CIION    OF   SYMl'A'mv. 


«9 


Lord  could  have  liad  exi)criciicc  of  cvcrv  kind  ot 
sickness  to  which  fallen  llesh  is  heir,  so  that  if  we 
had  read  that  the  I^ord  had  voluntarily  under^-one 
this  or  that  sickness,  it  would  have  been  possible  for 
one  man  to  say,  "  Mv  f^ord  has  more  svmpathy  with 
me  than  with  many  others,  for  I  now  suffer  from  the 
same  sickness  that  He  underwent."  i^ut  Ilis  per- 
fect sympathy  caused  Him  to  accept  what  was  com- 
mon to  man  without  condescending-  to  the  various 
forms  t)f  eccentricity  developed  in  individuals.  He 
voluntarily  laid  down  His  life,  not  because  fie  was 
subject  to  death,  but  because  mankind  is  subject  to 
death.  Here,  then,  may  we  see  the  interpretation 
of  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah  as  (juoted  bv  St.  Matthew  : 

Himself  took  our  infirmities  and  bare  our  sick- 
nesses." The  New  Head  of  the  human  race,  the 
last  Adam,  sustained  all  the  collective  burden  of 
human  sickness  in  underi^oing  the  common  end  of 
all  sickness,  even  death  ;  and  in  the  extremity  of  woe 
of  that  death  He  summed  up  all  the  pains  of  all 
varieties  of  sickness  and  disease.  In  His  case,  too, 
the  suffering  was  the  greater,  since  the  more  refined 
the  nature  the  more  sensitive  it  is  to  pain.  The 
Lord,  therefore,  suffered  as  none  other  man  suffered 
or  can  suffer.  Thus  He  had  perfect  svmpathy  with 
us  in  our  sicknesses. 

Then,  again,  just  as  Adam  at  the  first  summed  up 
in  himself  all  mankind,  and  therefore  had  the  moral 
characteristics  of  both  sexes,*  so  in  the  last  Adam 
we  see  the  same.  There  are  seen  the  gentleness,  the 
sympathy,   the  self-sacrifice  of  the  female,  and   the 


'■9' ' 

ill 
<t 

'f. 


!  i 


*  See  Appendix  M. 


■II,' 


I 


90 


PKRFKCTION   OF   SVMl'ATII Y. 


strcnj^th  of  will,  the  hatred  of  hypocrisy  and  cant, 
the  severe  ui)rit;htiiess  of  the  male.  Thus,  a^^aiii.  He 
has  perfect  syiiijjathy  with  all,  and  each  sex  may 
look  to  Iliin  as  their  Kxenii)lar  and  approach  Him 
with  holy  confidence. 

A^^ain,  there  has  been  implanted  in  mankind  the 
principle  of  resentment,  which  is  directed  ai^ainst 
mora!  evil  and  injury  done  in  the  world.  That 
anger,  which  is  one  form  oi  this,  is  not  wrong  we 
can  learn  from  St.  Paul,  who  cites  the  Crreek  trans- 
lation of  the  Hebrew,  and  thus  gives  the  Greek  an 
authority  which  otherwise  it  would  seem  to  lack  : 
"  Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  not."  Anger,  then,  may  be 
without  sin.  Let  us  not  allow  this  anger  to  degener- 
ate into  sin  by  brooding  over  it  or  allowing  a  just 
indignation  to  settle  on  its  lees  into  malice  or  re- 
venge. We  need  scarce  ask  whether  in  this  prin- 
ciple, common  to  all,  the  Lord  Jesus  had  any  share  ; 
none  can  read  the  Gospels  w  ithout  recognizing  His 
indignation  against  sin.  His  withering  scorn  of  hypoc- 
risy or  false  casuistry.  One  while  in  His  indigna- 
tion He  drove  out  by  His  single  arm  (once  with  a 
scourge  made  of  ropes,  once  with  the  mere  force  of 
His  wrath)  the  crowd  of  hucksters  and  traders  from 
the  Temple  ;  another  while  He  scathed  w  ith  bitter 
irony  the  wicked  casuistry  of  the  schools,  "  Full 
well  ye  reject  the  commandment  of  God,  that  ye 
may  keep  your  own  tradition  ;"  another  wdiile  He 
turned  upon  the  hypocrites  with  the  severe  denunci- 
ation of  the  eight  Woes.*  Herein,  then,  again,  we 
see  the  same. 


See  Appendix  N. 


:.;i 


FERKECTIDN   OF   SYMPATHY. 


91 


Another  difficulty  which  exercised  men  of  old  was 
the  existence  of  a  human  will  in  the  Man  Christ 
Jesus.  We  are  sometimes  admitted  to  see  the  exist- 
ence of  this.  In  the  deeply  mysterious  sayinj^  oi  our 
Lord  in  the  Court  of  tlie  Gentiles  on  the  Tuesday  in 
II(jly  Week  we  sec  this,  "  My  soul  is  troubled,  and 
what  shall  I  say  ?  [Shall  I  say]  Father,  save  Me  from 
this  hour  ?  [Nay]  but  for  this  cause  came  1  unto 
this  hour.  Father,  j^lorify  Thy  Name."  Here  is 
distinct  evidence  of  the  voluntary  submission  of  the 
human  will  to  the  Divine.  It  was,  indeed,  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  will  that  was  so  well  pleasiui^  to  (jod, 
"  the  will  (as  saith  St.  Bernard)  by  which  He  chose 
to  die,  more  than  the  death  itself."  We  see,  then,  in 
the  Lord  two  wills,  the  human  will  in  perfect  free- 
dom subjecting  itself  to  the  Divine  Will. 

There  is,  then,  no  age  of  either  sex  with  which  the 
Lord  cannot  sympathize  in  all  the  sorrows  and  per- 
plexities of  our  complex  life.  In  Body,  Soul,  and 
Spirit  His  sympathy  is  perfect.  For  the  Lord  was 
})erfect  man  in  every  respect  in  which  we  can  "  gaze 
upon  Him,"  and  as  such  was  perfect  in  sympathy 
with  all  of  us  who  have  bodies.  As  a  result, 
St.  Mark,  in  the  concise  picturesciueness  which  is 
his  distinguishing  characteristic,  tells  us  that  the 
primeval  control  over  the  brute  creation  granted 
to  the  First  Adam  was  renewed  in  the  Second 
Adam.  In  His  temptation  "  He  was  with  the  wild 
beasts." 


May  we  learn  by   His 


exam 
nion 


pie,  may   we  use  the 


power  granted  to  us  by  union  with  Him  to  tame  and 
subdue  the  wild  beasts  of  evil  passions  and  evil  within 
ourselves  that  we  may  be  found  worthy  to  sing  the 


I  ^ 


If 

I 

■lllillllU'MI'    ' 

lllll!''! 


.1  I 


92 


PERFECTION    OF   SYMPATHY. 


son^r  of  Moses,  the  servant  of  God,  and  of  the  I.an.b. 
and  worship  Mini  that  sitteth  on  the  Throne,  sayin«;, 
"  Tliou  [irt  worthy,  ()  Lord,  to  receive  «rl,)ry  ami 
honor  and  power,  for  Thou  hast  created  all  things, 
and  for  Thy  pleasure  they  were  and  were  created.'' 


LECTURE   V. 


THE  ATONKMKNT. 


"  Behold,  the  Lamb  of  God  that  takclh  away  the  sin  of  the  world." 
—  Sr.  John  i  :  2(>. 

What  wc  have  been  C()nsi(lcruig  thus  fur  is  in- 
deed enough  to  fill  us  with  deepest  wonder  and 
gratitude.  "  What  is  man  that  Tliou  iiast  been  thus 
mindful  of  him,  and  the  son  of  man  that  Tiuni  liast 
thus  regarded  him  I"  Surely  it  is  enough  to  warm 
the  coldest  heart,  to  fill  the  most  apathetic  with 
love.  That  the  All  Holy,  self-contained  God  should 
in  His  overflowing  love  determine  to  call  a  creature 
into  existence  is  indeed  marvelhnis.  That  the  Crea- 
tor should  determine  that,  when  the  fulness  of  the 
time  had  come,  He  would  admit  the  creature  to  inti- 
mate and  even  personal  union  with  Himself,  is  again 
a  thought  that  is  far  exceeding  our  powers  to  grasp 
fully.  We  believe  that  the  Exemplar  of  humanity 
is  and  always  was  present  to  the  mind  of  God  as 
humanity  as  it  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  Man  was  formed 
in  the  image  and  likeness  of  God,  and  also  after  the 
Ideal  existing  in  the  Design  of  the  Creator  ;  so  that 
the  Creator  might  become  Incarnate  in  the  form 
predetermined  from  all  eternity.  When,  therefore, 
it  pleased  God  the  Son  to  reveal  Himself  to  the 
Patriarchs,    we   may   believe    without    impiety   that 


1'  '•: '  - 

Ml 

1,-. 

94 


I  IIM   AIONKMKNT. 


»r 


lie  assinncd  nn  ai)pcanmcc  similar  to  that.  Hodv 
vvliicli  lie  would  assiHDc  when  the  fidness  of  time 
had  indeed  come.  vSo  that  thouijjh  the  Son  of  (lod 
is  in  I  lis  Divine  Nature  e(iu;»"\  invisible  with  Crori 
the  Father,  yet  as  a  prelude  or  proleplie  j)remoni- 
tion,  Me  assumed  tlie  aj)pearance  of  a  Body,  such 
as  lie  liad  determined  to  adopt  really  and  j)erma- 
nently  at  I  lis  Incarnation.  All  this  is  indeed  wonder- 
ful, and  \vc  cannot  be  sur[)rised  in  the  least  that  the 
minds  of  the  members  of  the  early  Church  were  so 
full  of  the  glorious  thoui^ht  that  (rod  had  really 
come  down  to  earth,  that  many  souj^ht  to  explain 
tliis  by  a  denial  of  the  reality  of  I  lis  Manhood.  We 
see  how  full  their  minds  were  of  the  stui)endous 
thought  that  their  Ix)rd  Jesus  Christ  was  (lod. 
The  first  martyr  dies  invoking  his  Lord  as  God,  and 
the  members  of  the  Church  become  thenceforward 
spoken  of  as  a  class  of  "  them  that  call  ui)on  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  ;"  *  the  word  is  the 
same  as  when  St.  Peter  says,  "  If  ye  call  on  the 
Father."  f  It  is  used  of  invoking  a  higher  author- 
ity, and  when  calling  for  spiritual  hclj)  distinctly  im- 
plies that  the  Person  so  invoked  is  God.  The  word 
had  been  used  to  translate  the  passage  in  Joel, 
where,  speaking  of  Gospel  times,  as  St.  Peter  tells 
us,  the  prophet  says,  "  It  shall  come  to  pass  that 
whosoever  shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall 
be  delivered."  X  This  title  alone,  then,  would  prove 
this  great  truth,  that  the  early  Church  clung  with 
the  greatest  firmness  to  the  belief  in  th*"  Divinity  of 
"  Jesus  Christ,  their  Lord  and  ours." 


*  I  Corinthians  i  :  2. 


f  I  St.  Peter  i  :  17. 


X  Acts  2  :  21. 


TUn   AIONKMKNT, 


95 


It  is  a  j^rcat  j^ricf  to  many  of  us  that  the  Unitarian 
[XM'vcrsion  (for  it  is  no  less)  of  the;  text  in  the  l^^pistlc 
to  the  Koniaiis  has  l)een  a(hnitteil  to  the  inarj^in  of 
what  lias  been  called  the  I'vevised  Version.*  \o 
(h)nl)t  it  is  true,  as  one  of  the  faithful  Revisers  has 
stated,  that  it  shows  that  such  j)erversion  was  de- 
liberately rejected  after  serious  consideration  ;  but 
there  is  some  cause  h)r  sorrow  in  the  tone  in  which 
Unitarians  have  welcomed  the  intrusion  into  the 
marj^in,  with  the  scarcely  veiled  hope  that  at  tin- 
next  revision  it  will  be  thrust  into  the  text  it- 
self. 

But  cancel  all  the  vai  lous  texts,  in  which  we  re- 
joice, which  tell  dirctly  of  the  F  ord's  Divinity,  and 
yet  you  rannot  e!im..iate  the  i^)od  of  proofs  in  almost 
every  litie  that  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  so  those  for  whom  tliey  wrote,  believed  full}-  in 
our  Lord's  Divinitv.  He  is  enshrined  In  their  in- 
most thoui^hts  ;  He  is  the  absolute  SoN'creij^n  of  their 
life,  temporal,  moral,  s[)iritual.  In  Him  they  live 
and  move  and  have  their  beinj^.  The  one  ij^reat  mo- 
tive power  of  all  their  action  was  this,  "  (iOl)  was 
manifest  in  the  flesh,  justihed  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of 
angels,  preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in 
the  world,  received  up  into  glory." 

When,  however,  some  began  to  bring  philosophy 
into  Christianity  they  commenced  their  endeavor  to 
explain  away  the  Incarnation.  They  acknowledgcf! 
the  Divinity,  but  ho'iv  could  this  be  reconciled  wiih 
true  humanity  ?  When  errors  came  in  by  way  of 
explanation,  then  St.  John  proclaimed   with  persist- 


*  See  Appendix  O. 


I  iiti 


•  't 


96 


TIM-,    ATONKMKNT 


cnt  reiteration  the  necessity  ol   absolute  belief  in  the 
fact  "  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  tiie  I'lesii." 

This  beiiii;'  the  case,  we  sIkjuU!  expect  soiue  care- 
ful description  ol  our  Lord's  Birtii  and  Infancy,  but 
let  us  see  how  it  is,  let  us  examine  tiie  contents  of  the 
four  accounts  of  the  Gospel  —that  is,  of  the  history 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

Of  these  four  accounts  only  two  mention  the  fact 
of  His  Birth,  only  two  i;ive  us  any  account  ol  the 
tirst  thirty  years  of  liis  life,  from  His  Birth  till  llis 
Ba])tism.  Ol  these  St.  Matthew  deyotes  lather  less 
than  one  twentieth  ol  llis  book,  and  St.  Luke  lather 
more  than  one  tenth  of  llis  book  to  the  first  thirty 
years  of  the  Lord's  lile.  Then  of  the  next  period 
until  the  Tassoyer,  mentioned  in  St.  John  6:1,  all 
lour  eyani;clists  say  much.  II  we  put  the  whole  four 
books  together,  rather  less  than  one  third  of  the  en- 
tire record  is  de\'oted  to  this  })eri()d  ;  St.  Matthew 
is  the  fullest,  St.  John  the  least  full.  Of  the  next  six 
months  the  record  is  slight  ;  St.  Mark  is  lather  the 
longest  here  and  St.  Luke  the  shortest,  h.s  account 
beiuir  one  third  the  leuirth  of  that  of  St.  Mark  in 
this  section.  hOr  the  next  six  months  the  record  is 
about  twice  the  length  of  the  preyious  section.  St. 
Luke  here  is  lar  the  longest,  his  record  is  ten  times 
that  of  St.  Mark,  whose  account  is  the  shortest,  and 
nearly  doubh;  that  of  St.  John,  vyho  comes  next  to 
St.  Lid-ce  in  length.  From  I'alm  Sunday  until 
Maundy  Thursday,  the  first  four  days  of  Holy  Week, 
the  record  is  nearly  as  long  as  that  of  the  preyious 
six  months,  St.  Matthew  giyin*^  the  discourses  on 
the  Tuesday  in  the  Temple  and  on  the  Mount  of 
Olives.     The  account  of   Maundy  Thursday   Kven- 


'JiiSaSk 


1 


THE    ATONKMKNT. 


97 


ing  and  (iood  Friday  equals  tlic  previous  section 
in  Icnj^th.  Here  tlie  three  Synoptic  (iosi)els  are 
nearly  of  the  same  Icnsj^th,  while  St.  John  is  lon<;er, 
because  he  ij;^ives  the  discourses  of  the  Lord  at  the 
Mysterious  Supper,  if  these  were  left  out  of  the 
rcckonini;-,  the  Story  of  the  Cross  would  be  about  the 
same  len<;th  in  each  Gospel.* 

These  may  be  thouij^ht  dry  details,  but  thev  seem 
to  teach  us  somethiuir.  They  teach  that  thouj^h 
the  writers  differed  about  the  inijiortance  they  at- 
tached to  certain  [)ortions  of  the  Lord's  LiJ\\  they 
did  not  in  the  least  differ  about  the  ini[)ortance  ol 
His  Death, 

Turn,  then,  to  the  later  writinj^s  of  the  Xew  Testa- 
ment. The  Book  of  the  Acts  contains  five  discourses 
of  St.  Peter.  liach  is  framed  on  a  similar  skeleton. 
On  the  liirthday  of  the  Church,  the  day  of  I'ente- 
cost,  he  sj)aket  of  "  jesus  ol  Nazareth,  a  mati  ap- 
proved of  God  amoiii^  you  by  miracles  and  wonders 
and  si<>ns,  which  Ciod  did  bv  llim  in  the  mitlst  ol 
vou,  as  ve  vourselves  also  kn(nv."  In  his  si)eech  to 
the  friends  of  Cornelius,  the  centurion,  he  spoke  of 
the  Lord  \  "  Who  went  about  doin<^  i^ood  and  heal- 
in<^  all  that  were  op[)resse(l  of  the  Devil,  for  (iod 
was  with  llim."  Hut  the  scheme  ol  all  his  addresses 
may  be  j^iven  in  the  condensed  report  ot    his  s{)eech 

before  "the  Council. The  CioD  of  our   fathers 

raised  up  Jesus,  whom  ye  slew  and  handed  on  a 
tree.  Him  hath  GoD  exalted  with  His  RiL;ht  lland 
to  be  a  I'rince  and  a  Saviour,  for  to  i^ive  re|)entance 
unto  Israel  and  f()ri;iveness  of  sins  ;  and  we  are  His 


*  See  Appendix  P. 
7 


t  Acts 


{  Acts  10  :  38. 


■■¥■'1 


*i  i 


HI 


II 


all' 


98 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


witnesses  of  these  things  ;  and  so  also  is  the  Holy 
Ohost,  Whom  GoD  hath  given  to  them  that  obey 
llim."'-  They  were  to  be  witnesses  of  Mis  death 
and  resurrection,  as  the  same  .St.  Peter  had  said 
before  the  election  of  vSt.  Matthias,  "Of  these  men 
must  one  be  ordained  to  be  a  witness  with  us  of  His 
r<esun"ection  ;"  f  a  witness  not  of  His  holy  life,  not 
of  His  miraculous  works,  but  of  His  I^esurrection, 
which  necessarily  imj)lies  His  Death.  St.  Paul, 
therefore,  declared  that  at  Corinth,  at  all  events,  he 
would  know  nothing  in  his  preaching  "  save  Jesus 
Christ,  and  Him  crucified.''  X 

From  this  time  the  Cross  became  the  very  symbol 
f)f  Christianity.  Christians  delighted  to  see  so  ne 
symptom  of  the  power  of  the  Cross  everywhere  in 
nature,  in  art,  in  mythology.  In  Kgyj)t,  in  Scandi- 
navia, in  India,  even  in  Kamschatka  the  Cross  has 
been  found  as  a  symbol.  In  Egypt  in  one  form  it  is 
the  symbol  of  life,  in  another  the  symbol  of  steadi- 
ness and  strength.  In  Scandinavia  it  is  the  symbol 
of  life  and  strength.  Thus  throughout  the  Old 
Testament  they  recognized  everywhere  foreshadow- 
ing of  the  Cross  ;  no  hint,  however  sligiit,  to  the 
minds  of  moderns  seemed  too  small  to  awaken  de- 
lighted acceptance  with  the  earh'  Christians  in  the 
first  vigor  of  their  eager  faith.  Not  only  in  the 
brazen  serpent  on  the  pole,  and  the  arms  stretched 
out  of  Moses  in  prayer,  when  Israel  fought  with 
Amalek,  but  also  in  the  outstretched  arm  of  Joshua 
with  the  spear  in  it,  in  the  cruciform  spit  of  the 
Paschal  Lamb,   in  the  two  sticks  gathered  by  the 


*  Acts  5  :  30. 


f  Acls  I  :  22. 


X  I  Corinthians  2  :  2. 


l.lll 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


99 


widow  to  prepare  her  meal,  in  the  rod  of  Moses,  in 
the  tree  thrown  into  the  bitter  waters  to  make  them 
sweet,  in  tlie  Tau  marked  on  the  foreheads  of  the 
saved  in  Ezekiel,  and  many  more.  Not  only  so,  but 
the  Christians  employed  the  sign  of  the  Cross  as  a 
"  seal  "  or  external  sign  of  blessing  and  protection. 
The  Christian  world  was  absolutely  full  of  the  Cross. 
Why,  then,  was  this  ? 

It  has  arisen  doubtless  from  the  deep  conviction 
that  all  hope  of  pardon  for  sin,  all  hope  of  reconcili- 
ation with  God,  all  hope  of  eternal  life,  all  hope  for 
the  future  depends  upon  the  one  fact,*  that  "  when 
we  were  yet  without  strength,  in  due  time  Christ 
died  for  the  ungodly."  "  Christ  once  suffered  for 
sins,  the  Just  for  the  unjust,  to  bring  us  to  God."  f 
"  Christ  was  delivered  for  our  offences,  and  rose 
again  for  our  justification."  :{:  Therefore,  well  did 
the  Apostle  cry  out,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should 
glory  save  in  the  Cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by 
Whom  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto 
the  world."  §  No  wonder  the  first  Apostles  at 
tached  themselves  once  and  forever  to  the  Lord 
when  they  heard  the  witness  of  the  forerunner  : 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the 
sins  of  the  world  !" 

This  was  the  one  persuasion  that  filled  the  hearts 
of  all,  that  God  the  Son  had  become  Incarnate  and 
died  on  the  Cross  lor  them.  Therefore  was  the 
Cross  the  one  emblem  of  their  faith  ;  therefore  was 
the  Cross   regarded   as    "  the   sign   of  the   Son  of 


*  Romans  5  :  6. 
\,  Romans  4  :  25. 


f  1  St.  Peter  3  :  18. 
§  Galatians  6  :  14. 


l\ 


% 


;lfl 


lOO 


THK   ATONEMENT 


Man,  "  ^'  Therefore  is  it  that  the  enterprisin<i^  mari- 
ners hailed  the  Southern  Cross  of  Stars  with  awe 
and  joyful  liope.  Therefore  do  Western  travellers 
recoi^ni/e  with  hopeful  awe  the  Cross  marked  on  the 
mountain.  Therefore  have  the  legends  arisen  about 
the  Cross  marked  on  the  back  of  the  ass,  and  the 
red  breast  of  the  robin,  and  others  such.  Christians 
delight  to  see  in  everything  some  token  of  their 
Redemption. 

Here,  then,  brethren,  bear  with  me  for  one  mo- 
ment, if,  as  in  private  duty  bound,  I  glory  in  the 
fact  that  my  nation  has  made  the  Cross  the  sign  of 
freedom  to  the  slave  througliout  the  world.  Our 
ships,  our  navy,  our  soldiers  glory,  in  the  fiag  of  the 
triple  Cross — the  Cross  of  St.  George,  the  Cross  of  St. 
Andrew,  the  Cross  of  St.  Patrick.  The  Cross  pro- 
tects them  when  alive  and  covers  them  as  a  pall 
when  they  die.  It  is  not  for  nothing  that  we  gather 
ourselves  together  under  the  banner  of  the  Cross. 

But  while  the  early  Christians  rejoiced  even  more 
in  the /(Iff  of  their  having  been  "  redeemed  with  the 
precious  Blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  Lamb  without 
blemish  and  without  spot,"  f  they  raised  no  question 
as  to  the  method,  as  to  hozv  the  Redemption  took 
place.  They  were  too  overcome  with  gratitude  to 
ask  for  or  to  reason  about  the  process  of  the  Atone- 
ment made  for  their  sins.  When  fervor  of  love  be- 
gan somewhat  to  cool  and  questioning  began,  then 
man  began  "  to  darken  counsel  with  words  without 
knowledge."  % 

In  the  providence  of  God  the  great  truths  about 


♦  See  Appendix  Q. 


f  I  St.  Peter  i  :  19. 


X  Job  38  :  2. 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


lOI 


the  Person  of  our  Blessed  Ix)rd  and  the  i^reat  facts 
of  our  Redemption  have  been  settled,  hut  there  is 
still  much  mystery  about  the  mode  and  method  of 
the  Atonement.  Certainly  if  there  were  no  mystery 
connected  therewith,  we  would  be  apt  to  think  that 
it  could  not  l)e  of  God,  Who  Himself  is  to  us  sinful 
men  the  deepest  mystery  of  all.  True  it  is  that 
those  do  well  who  m  simple,  humble  faith  accept 
the  glorious  y^^rr/  without  ari^uiui^  ;  still  it  is  also  true 
that  those  who  seek  reverently  to  use  their  reason, 
which  is  the  great  gift  ofGod,  in  the  endeavor 
to  understand  some  fringe  of  the  mysterv,  cannot 
be  doing  ill.  True  is  that  the  question  "  Ifoiv 
can  /"  is  often  the  question  of  doubt  or  halting  faith, 
as  when  Nicodemus  *  said  of  Reii:eneration  in  Ha:)- 
tism,  "  Ho-M  can  these  things  be  ?"  and  as  when  the 
Jews!  said  of  the  other  Gospel  Sacrament,  "  How 
can  this  man  give  us  Mis  Flesh  to  eat?"  Rut  we 
must  remember  that  we  should  "  be  readv  always 
to  give  an  answer  to  ever}-  man  that  asketh  you  a 
reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you  with  meekness  and 
fear.":|:  We  cannot  do  this  without  some  careful 
thought.  If  this  is  requisite  for  all,  how  much  more 
for  the  clergy,  that  they  ma}'  "  rightly  divide;  the 
word  of  Truth." 

Here,  indeed,  Ave  may  say  that  one  reason  why 
the  doctrine  about  the  Atonement  has  caused  so 
much  difficulty  in  some  minds  is,  that  the  word  of 
truth  has  been  not  rightl}"  divided.  The  Christian 
Religion  comprehends  one  consistent  scheme  of  doc- 
trine, and  no  one  part  can  be  distorted  or  exagger- 


fin 

■i'if'i 


St.  John  3  :  4,  9.  f  St.  John  6  :  52.  %  \  St.  Peter  3  :  15. 


102 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


atcd  without  marrinc:  the  whole.  When  the  Atone- 
niert  has  been  represented  as  the  aet  of  a  loving- 
Creator,  the  Son  of  God,  to  appease  the  wrath  of 
His  angered  Father,  this  at  once  introduces  very 
grave  error  of  fundamental  importance.  First  we 
read  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only 
begotten  Son."  Next  we  believe  that  there  neither 
is  nor  can  be  any  divergence  of  will  between 
Father  and  the  Son.  If  God  the  Father  be  regarded 
as  angered  by  sin.  we  must  remember  that  there  is 
such  a  terrible  thing  as  "  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb."* 
If  "  God  is  Love,"  "  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling 
the  world  unto  Himself,  "f  The  Atonement  began 
and  ended  in  the  Love  of  God.  But  we  must  re- 
member that  true,  real,  deeply  earnest  love  may 
be  much  sterner  than  the  more  superficial,  shallow, 
and  even  selfish  benevolence. 

Tlien  side  issues  have  been  raised  about  the  mean- 
ing of  the  English  word  Atonement  and  its  use  in 
the  English  Bible.  But  these  are  all  beside  the  mat- 
ter. True,  the  word  is  an  c>ld  English  word.  In 
the  West  of  England,  to  this  day,  when  any  persons 
have  quarrelled  they  are  said  to  be  "  at  two  ;"  when 
the  quarrel  is  made  up  they  are  "  at  one"  again. 
In  the  New  Testament  the  word  is  used  for  a  Greek 
word  which  means  "  reconciliation,"  but  a  some- 
what different  meaning  has  been  since  attached  to 
the  word,  and  it  is  with  the  meaning  that  we  have 
to  do.  But  brushing  all  these  aside,  let  us  humbly 
and  faithfully  endeavor  to  see  if  we  may  in  some 
little  degree  pick  up  some  few  pebbles  on  the  shore 


*  Revelation  6  :  16. 


f  2  Corinthians  5  :  19. 


>''i-„ 


Ij^^^'W""  amtt^tpm 


THE   ATONEMENT 


103 


of  the  great  ocean  of  mystery  before  us.  Let  us 
humbly  submit  ourselves  wliere  we  cannot  lathom 
"  the  dei)ths  of  the  riches  both  of  the  \vis(h)m  and 
knowledge  of  God.  For  unsearchal)le  are  1  lis  judg- 
ments, and  His  ways  past  finding  out."  *  In  such 
matters  we  must  wait  until  "  we  know,  even  as  we 
are  known,"  for  if  a  man  must  confess  that  he  does 
not  know  himself  (and  who  does  know  himself  thor- 
oughly ?),  he  cannot  ex[)ect  here  on  earth  com- 
pletely "  to  know  the  mind  of  the  Lord." 

We  have  already  seen  that  all  history  bears  wit- 
ness to  a  disorder  in  man,  which  science  can  only 
explain  by  explaining  it  away.  This  disorder  is  sin  ; 
it  is  not,  it  cannot  be  natural  t(j  man  ;  it  must  be 
some  deviation  from  his  natural  condition.  There 
is  evidence  of  a  sense  of  this  in  heathen  men  apart 
from  Scripture.  St.  Paul  could  say,  "  Tiie  good 
that  I  would,  I  do  not  ;  but  the  evil  which  I  would 
not,  that  I  do  ;"  f  and  the  heathen  could  say,  "  I 
see  the  better  and  approve  of  it,  but  I  follow  the 
worse."  :{: 

We  believe  that  man  was  made  b}'  God  and  for 
God,  therefore  man's  only  happiness  is  in  union  with 
God.  But  when  man's  will  chose  that  which  was 
contrary  to  God's  will,  that  union  with  God  could 
no  longer  continue.  This  union  being  severed,  man 
by  himself  alone  could  do  nothing  whatever  to  re- 
pair the  breach.  His  life  was  cut  off  from  the  true 
Life.  This  is  re[)resented  by  his  being  cut  off  fr(;m 
the  Tree  of  Life  in  the   midst  of  the  garden.      lie 


1 

i 

k\l 


i 


*  Romans  ir  :  33. 

t  Ovid,  Metamorphoses,  VII.  20. 


f  Romans  7  :  ig. 


104 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


I      I 


ini*;ht  yearn  alter  reunion,  he  ini<;lit  be  conscious  of 
some  loss,  tlK)u_i;li  he  knew  not  what  lie  had  lost,  but 
he  could  do  nothinjj^  whatever  to  restore  the  loss.  He 
was  like  a  frozen  man,  utterly  unable  to  approach 
the  source  of  heat  and  light,  that  he  niii^ht  live  and 
move.  A  sinful  state  is  alienation  from  God  ;  and 
each  act  of  sin,  while  it  testifies  to  such  alienation, 
can  but  increase,  if  possible,  the  alienation  which 
already  exists. 

But  still  more.  VVe  read  that  the  first  act  of  man 
after  his  first  i^reat  sin  was  to  hide  himself,  or  to 
endeavor  to  hide  himself  from  God,  anion*^  the  trees 
of  the  f^arden.  This  was  from  a  sense  of  shame, 
which  is  a  sense  of  guilt.  This  sense  of  guilt  is  to 
be  met  with  among  the  better  livinir  anion";  the 
heathen.  The  Apostles  and  early  preachers  of  Chris- 
tianity among  the  Gentile  nations  made  this  very 
sense  of  guilt  the  groundwork  of  their  aj)peal  to  the 
conscience.  This  it  was  whicli  gave  such  meaning 
and  force  to  the  earnest  addresses  of  St.  Paul, 
"  Knowing  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  we  persuade 
men."  '^  This  it  was  that  made  Felix  tremble  when 
Paul  "  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and 
judgment  to  come."  The  Emperor  Cxsar  was  a 
long  wav  off,  and  Felix  could  easily  deal  with  accusa- 
tions to  be  preferred  against  his  maladministration 
in  that  court ;  but  when  the  judgment  to  come  was 
pleaded,  then  his  consciousness  of  guilt  compelled 
him  to  feel  that  he  would  not  so  easily  escape  in  this 
tribunal  ;  and  hence  it  was  that  he  trembled  and 
tried  to  put  the  thought  away  from  him,  by  dismiss- 


*  2  Corinthians  5:11. 


■"'"^"-'"''■' ""'i'-^J^':,..-^,^:.,....:^.^^^^ ,...■. 


TIIK   ATONEMExNT. 


105 


i 


in<^  from  his  sii^lit  the  prcaclicr  of  tlic  comiii;^  ji'tl^;- 
incnt.  If  tlicrc  IkuI  not  been  tliis  sense  of  L;iiilt,  (h»r- 
inant,  perchance,  but  still  alive  in  man,  the  task  of 
the  Apostles  and  their  successors  would  have  been 
much  harder.  The  sneer  of  the  unbeliever,  that  the 
preachers  of  Christianity  traded  on  the  fears  of  their 
hearers,  proves  that  there  was  this  sense  of  ^iiilt  that 
could  be  awakened. 

Next,  this  would  imply  that  there  was  some  ex- 
ternal standard  of  ri<^ht  and  wi'onj^  bv  which  "  ac- 
tions are  weii^hed."  I'or  indeed  the  heathen 
"  who  know  not  God"  still  "  show  the  work  of  the 
law  written  in  their  hearts,  their  conscience  also  bear- 
m^  witness,  and  their  thou«^hts  the  meanwhile  accus- 
ing or  else  excusing'  one  another."  "■•  Xor  docs  this 
depend  only  on  the  word  of  wSt.  Paul,  though  that 
would  be  enough  for  us.  For,  as  has  been  most 
excellently  pointed  out,  the  same  view  is  held  by 
Aristotle  .'uid  Cicero,  testifying  on  behalf  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans.  Aristotle  f  had  said  of  the 
upright,  "  Against  them  there  is  no  law  ;  for  thev 
themselves  are  law."  Cicero  said  ::{;  "  True  law  is 
right  reason,  agreeable  to  nature,  common  to  all, 
uniform,  everlasting,  which  calls  to  duty  by  com- 
man  ling,  by  forbidding  deters  from  wrong.  .  .  . 
Nor  vi  ill  there  be  one  law  at  I^ome  and  another  at 
Athens  ;  one  now  and  a  different  one  by  and  by  ;  but 
one  law,  both  everlasting  and  unchangeable,  will  bind 
both  all  nations  and  at  all  time,  and  there  will  be  in 

*  Romans  2  :  15. 

f  Polit.  in.,  xiii.  14,  quoted  by  Archdeacon  Gifford  in  "  Speaker's 
Commentary." 
I  See  Appendix  R. 


m 


*i(. 


'M 


1 06 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


common  one,  as  it  were,  Master  and  Rmperor  of  all, 
God  Himself."  Cicero  thus  traces  the  law  back  to 
a  personal  power,  Who  is  at  once  the  exj)oiinder 
and  interpreter  of  the  law,  God  Himself.  Indeed 
we  cannot  conceive  of  a  law  actin<^  automatically 
without  a  i)ersonal  Agent  who  will  care  for  its  en- 
forcement and  punish  every  breach — at  least,  it  seems 
to  me  impossible. 

The  same  feeling,  common  to  all,  which  implies 
the  existence  of  an  external  standard  and  a  ()ower 
to  bring  all  to  the  test  of  this  standard,  implies  also 
the  absolute,  unswerving  upriglitness  of  such  power  ; 
this,  then,  acknowledges  the  absolute  justice  of  the 
punishment  inflicted  for  the  breach  of  the  law. 

Coextensive  with  this  feeling  there  is  a  j)ractice 
of  sacrifice,  the  origin  of  which  cannot  be  traced. 
The  rite  is  met  with  in  the  very  commencement  of 
the  history  of  the  Bible,  and  in  secular  and  i)r()fanc 
history  as  well.  Greek  jjhilosopher,  Roman  magis- 
trate, Fiebrew  prophet,  all  (jffered  sacrifice.  With 
the  Hebrews  the  fire  of  sacrifice  was  "  ever  burning 
on  the  altar,  it  never  went  out."  With  the  heathen, 
sacrifice  was  connected  with  all  important  events  of 
public  and  private  life.  That  man  should  eat  his 
meat  "  roast  with  fire,"  and  not  raw,  has  its  origin 
most  probably  in  the  universal  law  of  sacrifice.  If 
this  be  so,  it  also  implies  that  the  sacrifice  was  re- 
garded as  a  token  of  the  renewal  or  continuance  of 
the  covenant  or  union  with  God.  For  it  would  show 
that  man  learned  to  eat  his  flesh  "  roast  with  fire," 
by  "  eating  of  the  sacrifice  ;"  the  being  "  partakers 
with  the  altar"  would  betoken  reconciliation  with 
Him  whose  Altar  it  was,  as  the  sharing  of  a  meal 


' 


TIIK    ATONKMI-NT. 


107 


witli  a  mail  betokened  the  commencerneiit,  continu- 
ance, or  renewal  of  a  c(n'enant.  'J'luis  Laban  and 
Jacob  "  did  eat  there  upDn  the  heap,"  perhaps  ot  a 
common  sacrihce,*  certainly  in  token  of  peace  and 
amity.  So  it  was,  therefore,  when  tiie  covenant  was 
made  at  ^^ount  Sinai, f  Moses,  Aaron,  Xadab,  y\bilui, 
and  seventy  of  the  elders  of  Israel,  as  the  rei)resent- 
ativcs  of  the  nation  of  the  Hebrews,  ate  and  drank, 
probably  of  their  sacrifices,  in  the  immediate;  Presence 
of  God,  specially  manifested  at  the  time  for  the  pur- 
pose of  the  Covenant,  The  clothinjj^  our  first  parents 
in  coats  of  skins  :{;  has  been  regarded  by  some  as  an 
intimation  that  animal  sacrifice  had  been  offered  in 
the  innocence  of  Paradise.  But  when  innocence  was 
lost,  and  sin  with  its  attendant  guilt  had  come  in, 
then  there  was  a  change,  not  in  the  rite  itself,  but  in 
the  aspect  in  which  it  was  viewed.  The  sense  of 
guilt  called  into  existence  intense  yearning  for  some 
propitiation,  some  mitigation  in  some  way  of  the 
penalty  attaching  to  sin,  and  sacrifice  was  regarded 
in  some  sort  as  a  means  of  propitiation.  There  was 
a  distinct  feeling  that  something  should  be  done  to 
propitiate  Divine  wrath,  and  as  between  man  and 
man  "  a  gift  in  secret  pacifieth  anger,"  so  a  similar 
feeling  arose  between  man  and  God.  At  the  same 
time  there  was  the  full  persuasion,  on  every  ground, 
that  the  gift  to  be  offered  must  be  of  the  utmost 
value  to  the  offerer.  If  it  were  of  anything  that 
came  to  hand,  it  would  not  be  of  sufficient  impor- 
tance ;  the  loss  to  the  offerer  would  not  be  in  any  de- 


■^J 


|i 


M 


*  So  says  the  Targum  of  Palestine. 
X  Genesis  3  :  21. 


f  Exodus  24  ;  11 


mi 


1 08 


Till:   ATONEMKNT. 


I 

'^^H 

1:'* 

1 

■H 

ill- 

1 

K  < 

1 

1 

] 

K^}  , 

-J 

{j^rcc  sufficient  to  warnint  the  liopc  that  tiic  offence 
would  be  forj^iven.  This  feeliuij^  naturally  arose 
from  the  sense  of  the  dignity  of  the  One  offended 
by  the  sin  which  had  been  committed.  The  very 
best  of  a  man's  |)()ssessions  was  far  inferior  to  the 
man  himself  ;  how,  therefore,  could  a  sacrifice  of  less 
value  than  the  !iian  avail  before  God  ?  The  (juestion 
of  IJalak  was  the  j^reat  (lucstion  of  man,  **  Where- 
with shall  1  come  before  the  LoKD,  and  bow  myself 
before  the  hlj^h  God?  Shall  I  come  before  Ilim 
with  burnt  offerini^s,  with  calves  of  a  year  old  ? 
Will  the  r.ORl)  be  pleased  with  thousands  of  rams, 
or  with  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of  oil  ?  Shall  1  give 
my  firstborn  for  my  transgression,  the  fruit  of  my 
body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul  ?" '^^  There  seemed  to 
be  a  demand  for  a  human  sacrifice,  the  least  that 
could  be  offered,  the  least  that  could  be  accepted. 

Such  feeling  probably  existed  before  the  time  of 
Abraham,  so  that  the  terrible  test  of  his  faith  was 
probabl}'  not  absolutely  new  to  his  experience.  The 
offering  of  a  firstborn  son  would  be  in  the  eyes  of 
many  a  greater  sacrifice  than  the  immolation  of  self. 
Certainly  human  sacrifice  was  practised  very  widely 
if  not  universally.  Among  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
with  the  Druids  of  Gaul,  if  not  of  Britain  ;  with  the 
Mexicans,  when  invaded  by  Cortes,  human  sacrifice 
was  common  and  customary.  This  must  bear  testi- 
mony to  a  feeling  that  some  valuable  life  is  necessary 
as  the  least  inadequate  sacrifice  to  be  offered  to  the 
offended  Deity.  Vet  all  along  there  was  a  sense 
that  all  was  inadequate,  all  was  really  impotent  and 

*  Micah  6  :  6,  7. 


THE   ATONKNfKNT. 


ICX; 


valueless  to  effect  wluit  was  sorely  Ionised  for,  jtar. 
clou  and  reunion  with  (iod. 

It  has  been  said  that  careful  examination  of  Reve- 
lation warrants  the  belief  that  the  Creator  desij^ned 
a  Personal  Union  between  Himself  and  I  lis  creation 
from  the  first,  imd  that  man  was  the  creature  formed 
with  sympathies  with  the  rest  of  creation  with  this 


spcci; 


d 


ii   view 


that 


in 


the    fulness   of    time"    God 


won 


Id 


l)ecome 


1 


ncarnate    in    man  s    nature. 


Tl 


le 


ir 


merciful  purpose  held  on  its  course  notwithstandin 
the  ()utra<;e  of  man's  sin  and  dejection  ;  but  now,  i 
addition  to  the  mercv  and  love  of  takiiiir  tlie  creature 


n 


in 


to  U 


nion, 


there   wiis  superadded  the  i^reater  ex- 


hibition of  mercy  and  love  in  the  redemption  and 
restoration  of  man. 

Of  this  there  were  many  tvj)es,  and  amonu^  others 
the  whole  system  of  Levitical  sacrihces.  While  we 
cannot  tell  (because  Revelation  is  silent  on  the  mat- 
ter) whether  the  ori<;in  of  sacrifice  was  the  command 
of  God,  yet  we  do  know  that  God  took  that  which 
was  in  existence  and  surrounded  it  with  a  cere- 
monial and  ritual  <^ivin<^  it  a  typical  sij^nilicance. 
This  is  what  has  ever  been  done.  When  the  Lord 
was  upon  earth  He  took  various  clauses  from  pravers 
in  use  amoni^  the  Jews  and  framed  a  prayer  for  I  lis 
disciples.  He  took  a  rite,  which  was  at  all  events 
then  in  use,  and  made  it  instinct  with  life  as  the 
initial  impartiui^  of  the  new  life.  He  took  bread  and 
wine  and  made  them  the  means  of  impartini^  spiritual 
food  to  His  faithful  members.  So  sacrifice  in  ordi- 
nary use  in  the  world  was  taken  and  surrounded  with 
typical  solemnity  in  the  ceremonial  law  of  Moses. 

Here  no  doubt  arises  a  question  which  has  caused 


'4 


(v.^ 


)': 


1:1 
■ « 


J. 


,'•■  t . 


I  lO 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


much  debate  and  many  lon<^  treatises  ;  all  this  can- 
not here  be  entered  ui)()n.  We  can  only  deal  with 
some  broad  points  which  may  help  us,  and  passin<j^ 
by  the  offerinj^s  of  incense  and  show  bread,  we  will 
speak  only  of  the  sacrifices  which  entailed  the  shed- 
din<^  of  the  blood  of  a  victim. 

The  offerer  first  laid  his  hands  on  the  head  of  the 
victim.  riiis  symbolical  act  always  implied  that 
some  effect  was  to  result  from  this,  some  virtue  or 
f^race,  or,  as  it  would  seem,  guilt  v/as  understood  to 
pass  from  the  one  who  laid  on  hands  to  the  other. 
Thus  M(3ses  was  commanded  to  lay  hands  on  Joshua, 
and  we  read,"'^  "  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  was  full  of 
the  s})iritof  wisdom  ;  FOR  Moses  had  laid  his  hands 
on  him."  So  in  connection  with  the  sacrificial  cere- 
mony it  is  clear  that  the  guilt  of  the  offerer  was  in 
some  sense  regarded  as  passing  from  the  man  to  the 
victim.  This  is  clearly  stated  in  the  case  of  the 
scapegoat  on  the  day  of  Atonement.  In  this  case 
we  read  :t  "  Aaron  shall  lay  both  his  hands  on  the 
head  of  the  live  goat,  and  confess  over  him  all  the 
iniquities  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  all  their  trans- 
gressions in  all  their  sins,  putting  them  upon  the 
head  of  the  goat,  and  shall  send  him  away  by  the 
hand  of  a  fit  man  into  the  wilderness  ;  and  the  goat 
shall  bear  u})on  him  all  their  iniquities  into  a  land 
not  Inhabited."  So  in  the  case  of  the  offerer  we 
read  ::{;  "  He  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  head  of  the 
burnt  olTering  ;  and  it  shall  be  accepted  for  him  to 
make  an  atonement  for  him." 


*  Deuteronomy  34  :  9. 

X  Leviticus  1:4:4:4,  etc. 


f  Leviticus  16  :  21. 


WTffi^SniY»iii«Sia>aaMMM«yiBiaiiMii^«Mifc 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


I  I  I 


Next  the  offerer  was  to  slay  the  vietini  ;  this  would 
beeome  an  acknowledi^nieiit  that  death  was  the  just 
punishment  of  sin,  that  it  was  wiiat  the  offe?x*r  had 
righteously  deserved. 

After  this  the  blood  was  sprinkled  on  the  altar  ; 
the  blood  being  regarded  as  the  principle  of  life, 
this  action  would  typify  the  offering  to  God  the  life 
of  the  victim. 

Then  foUowed  the  consumption  of  the  whole  or 
part  bv  hre.  Here  many  explanations  have  been 
offered  of  the  tvpical  significance  of  this.  It  may  be 
regarded  as  showing  that  the  victim  is  given  to 
God,  and  that  nothing  short  of  our  best  may  be 
given  to  llim  with  acceptance.  Then,  as  has  been 
pointed  out,  since  the  word  for  burning  is  not  the 
ordinary  word,  but  one  that  is  used  for  the  smoke 
of  the  incense,  tliis  im{>lies  that  the  smoke  of  the 
sacrifice  rising  to  Heaven  represents  the  yearning 
of  the  heart  toward  God.  The  fire  itself,  having 
originallv  come  from  Heaven  (/'  the  fire  shall  ever 
be  burning  on  My  altar,  it  shall  never  go  out"), 
would  represent  the  fervor  of  love  in  the  worshipper, 
originally  imjdanted  by  God.  "  We  love  Him 
because  He  first  loved  us." 

Then  followed  in  various  sacrifices  the  eating  of 
some  part  by  the  priest,  and  again  in  some  the  eat- 
ing by  the  offerer  and  his  friends.  As  the  priest  is 
at  once  tiie  representative  of  God  and  man,  his  eat- 
ing may  be  a  token  of  reconciliation  and  renewal  of 
the  covenant  between  God  and  man,  while  the  eat- 
ing of  the  sacrifice  by  the  offerer  would  be  the  token 
of  renewed  oneness  with  God.  To  this  St.  Paul 
would   seem    to   point,   perchance,    when    he   says  : 


'i,: 


m 


lip 


■it 


m 


I  12 


THE   ATONKMENT. 


"  For  \vc  being  many  arc  one  bread,  and  one  body  ; 
FOR  wc  arc  all  partakers  of  that  one  Bread,"  ''• 

Here,  then,  v\x'  trace  an  acknowdedgnient  of  guilt, 
a  recognition  of  the  righteousness  of  the  [)unishment 
for  sin — viz.,  death,  as  well  as  an  oifcring  of  the  life 
to  God  in  ])ouring  forth  the  blood,  the  principle  of 
life,  and  the  renewal  of  the  covenant  and  union  with 
God. 

But  these  sacrifices  also  testified  to  the  necessity 
of  some  offering  which  would  at  once  be  perfect 
and  afford  perfect  restoration  to  union  with  God. 
[•"or  thev  testified  to  their  own  feebleness  by  the  ex- 
cessive fre([uency  of  their  being  offered,  I'Or,  as 
the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  argues,  if  anv  one  had 
real  efificacy,  then  all  would  have  been  accomplished, 
and  they  would  all  have  ceased  to  be  offered. t 

But  now,  as  we  look  around  in  the  world,  we  see 
tiiat  they  have  ceased  to  be  offered.  When  the  Epis- 
tle to  the  Hebrews  was  written  thev  were  still  beinc: 
offered  at  the  Temple  in  Jerusalem.  Soon  afterward 
the  Temple  was  destroyed,  and  the  sacrifices  at  once 
ceased,  and  forever.  Hebrews  exist  all  over  the 
world,  a  separate  people,  with  a  separate  rudimen- 
tary faith,  truncated,  dwarfed,  stunted,  with  no 
means  whatever  of  offering  the  sacrifices  which  they 
'.Hiist  offer  if  they  adhere  to  their  faith  in  its  integrity, 
so  far  as  it  goes. 

Here,  then,  is  a  marvel  !  How  can  we  account 
for  it  ? 

I,  for  my  part,  believe  that  on  that  day  of  Prepara- 
tion, when  Our  Blessed  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  hang- 


*  i  Corinthians  lo  :  17. 


t  Hebrews  10  :  2. 


SBS 


'1 


.1-  i 


THE  ATONEMENT. 


113 


ing  on  the  Cross,  the  supernatural  darkness  from 
noon  till  three  o'clock  prevented  the  offeriui^  of  the 
daily  evening  lamb,  as  well  as  the  annual  Paschal 
Lamb.'^  I,  for  my  part,  believe  that  the  name 
Preparation  (still  used  for  Good  Friday,  and  so  for 
all  Fridays  in  the  year)  is  a  continual  testimony  that 
St.  John  and  the  early  Christian  writers  are  correct! 
in  stating  that  the  eating  of  the  Paschal  Lamb  by  the 
Jews  was  on  the  evening  a/Ur  our  Lord's  death. 
What  a  wonderful  fulfilment  of  prophecy  !  "In 
the  midst  of  the  week  (the  three  years  and  a  half  of 
His  ministry)  He  shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and  obla- 
tion to  cease."  ^  In  the  presence  of  that  "  one  per- 
fect and  sufficient  sacrifice,  oblation,  and  satisfac- 
tion," the  daily  and  annual  type  were  "caused  to 
cease." 

But  whether  this  be  so  or  not,  we  may  rest  assured 
that  just  as  the  dumbness  of  the  priest  Zachariah 
betokened  the  passing  away  of  the  power  of  sacer- 
dotal benediction  from  the  Levitical  priesthood,  so 
the  cry  of  the  son  of  Zachariah  betokened  the  pass- 
ing away  of  the  Levitical  priesthood  altogether, 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  Which  taketh  away  the 
sins  of  the  world  !" 

The  Baptist  here  must  have  had  reference  to  the 
Lamb  of  Sacrifice,  the  Lamb  Who  was  to  redeem  us 
with  His  Blood.  In  this  cry  indeed  is  the  whole 
Gospel  of  salvation.  Here  indeed  is  the  One  only 
perfect  sacrifice,  and  when  this  was  offered,  after  the 
probationary  period  of  forty  years,  the  Jewish  sacri- 


*  See  Appendix  S. 

X  Daniel  9  :  27.    See  Appendix  V. 

8 


f  See  Appendix  T. 


li  W 


114 


THE  ATONEMENT. 


ficcs  ceased  at  once  and  forever.  Nay  more,  the 
heathen  sacrifices  began  at  the  same  time  to  fail,  and 
though  the  Apostate  Julian  strove  to  revive  them, 
and  in  some  form  they  lingered  on  here  and  there, 
yet  they  were  moribund,  and  have  now  practically 
ceased. 

But  when  we  come  to  ask  the  question  either 
"How  can  these  things  be?"  or  "How  was  this 
done  ?"  then  we  have  to  be  very  careful  lest  we  in- 
cur the  reproach  that  "  we  darken  counsel  with 
words  without  knowledge."  We  durst  go  no  fa*  her 
than  Scripture  doth  lead  us  by  the  hand, " 

The  death  of  Christ,  which  is  so  thankfully  insisted 
(m,  is  represented  by  three  images  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment ;  no  one  could  in  any  wa}'  exhaust  the  teach- 
ing ;  and  doubtless  these  three  fail  to  cover  all  the 
meaning.  The  first  figure  employed  is  a  propitia- 
tion or  sin-offering,  next  a  redemption,  and  thirdly, 
a  reconciliation  or  atonement. 

It  is  a  propitiation.  Herein  is  satisfied  that  yearn- 
ing which  seems  inherent  in  man,  for  an  expiation 
for  his  guilt.  Man  of  himself  alone  could  not  offer 
an  acceptable  sacrifice  ;  Christ  has  done  this  on  his 
behalf  as  his  representative.  Here,  then,  we  may 
see  that  the  wrath  of  God  is  the  necessary  (if  we 
may  say  so  with  deepest  reverence)  hostility  of  the 
Divine  nature  to  sin.  In  this  there  is  not,  there  can- 
not be  any,  even  the  smallest  divergence  or  differ- 
ence between  the  Persons  of  the  Ever  Blessed 
Trinity.  We  might  almost  call  it  blasphemy  to  say 
that  the  love  of  the  Son  sought  to  propitiate  the 

*  See  Appendix  W. 


THE  ATONEMENT. 


115 


anger  of  the  Father ;  as  if  both  had  not  equal  love 
and  equal  anger  against  sin.  Sin  is  an  outrage 
against  God  the  Son  as  much  as  against  the  Father 
or  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  wrath  of  God  is  the  ex- 
pression of  justice,  which  hates  and  punishes  sin,  as 
well  as  the  hostility  of  an  offended  Peison.  We 
may  believe,  then,  that  as  He  is  immutable,  so  the 
hostility  to  sin  cannot  be  put  away  until  the  de- 
mands of  His  justice  have  been  satisfied.  Pain  and 
suffering  are  the  signs  of  God's  hatred  to  sin. 
These  were  borne  by  Christ,  though  He  did  no  sin. 
Death  had  been  declared  to  be  the  penalty  of  sin. 
This  Christ  underwent  for  us,  though  He  deserved 
it  not.  In  Christ,  the  Second  Adam,  the  represent- 
ative of  man,  there  was  a  full  and  complete  admis- 
sion of  the  righteousness  of  the  sentence  of  God. 
The  Cross  of  Christ  was,  on  the  one  hand,  a  procfe- 
mation  of  the  judgment  of  God  against  sin,  and  also, 
on  the  other  hand,  on  man's  behalf,  as  has  been  very 
excellently  said,  "a  perfect  Amen  in  humanity  to 
the  judgment  of  God  on  the  sin  of  man." 

If  one  feature  of  sacrifice  was  the  offering  of  our 
best,  was  not  Christ  our  very  best,  "chief  among 
ten  thousand,  and  altogether  lovely?"  He  is,  in- 
deed, as  St.  Peter  said,  "a  Lamb  without  blemish 
and  without  spot."  Therefore  is  He  indeed  "the 
Lamb  of  God."  Hence  was  it  that  when  "  Christ 
gave  Himself  for  us,  He  was  indeed  an  offering  and 
a  sacrifice  to  God  of  a  sweet-smelling  savor,"  with 
such  God  was  well  pleased. 

The  night  before  He  suffered  He  Himself  said  : 
"  This  is  My  Blood  of  the  New  Covenant,  which  is 
being  shed  for  many  unto  remission  of  sins."     Thus 


1: 


^1 


pp 

m  't 

1  ■' 

]l 

'ml    ' 

H  i< 

H   1 

H  ' 

1 

1  \ 
H  i 

■      i  r  .ftit- 

.";■    :i -f 


p     J 


Ii6 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


He  proclaimed  Himself  a  sin-offcrins^,  and  that  His 
Blood  was  shed  for  fori^iveness  of  sins.  "  He  bare 
the  sins  of  many,"  not  as  an  arbitrary  substitution 
of  a  sinless  One  lor  the  sins  of  a  whole  race,  but  as 
their  Representative,  as  bearing'  their  nature  (He 
took  not  the  person  ot  a  man,  but  the  nature  ot 
man).  He  "  bare  our  sins  in  His  Body  on  the  tree" 
of  the  Cross.  One  while  therefore  He  was  repre- 
sented by  the  scapci^oat  bearing  the  sins  and  in- 
iquities of  the  people  away  from  them,  another 
while  He  was  represented  by  the  sin-offering  put  to 
death  by  those  lor  whom  He  was  a  propitiation. 

There  was  a  deep  mystery  in  His  death  ;  it  was  a 
voluntary  submission,  to  which  He  had  looked  for- 
ward with  increasing  horror.  But  as  the  root  of  all 
sin  is  disobedience,  so  to  this  death  the  perfect  obe- 
dience of  the  Sufferer  gave  value,  which  became 
infinite,  from  the  infinite  worth  of  the  Subject. 

Here,  too,  we  may  perchance  learn  somewhat  of 
the  outskirts  of  the  deep  mystery  of  His  death. 
"He  learned  obedience  by  the  things  which  He 
suffered,"  and  therein  "  He  became  obedient  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  Cross."  We  may  un- 
derstand somewhat  of  the  terrible  strain  or  effort  of 
this  obedience  from  the  increasing  horror  of  death 
which  oppressed  His  innocent  soul,  part  of  which 
we  are  admitted  to  know.  During  the  last  year  of 
His  life  and  of  His  ministry,  the  thought  of  His 
death  was  ever  present  to  His  mind,  and  it  wrung 
His  soul  more  and  more.  When  He  had  drawn  the 
confession  from  St.  Peter,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God,"  St.  Matthew  tells  us  at  once 
"  from  that  time  forth  began  Jesus  to  show  unto  His 


'WMS^ 


SBCSS 


THE  ATONEMENT. 


117 


disciples,  how  that  He  must  ^o  unto  Jerusalem,  and 
suffer  many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief  priests 
and  scribes,  and  be  killed,  and  be  raised  ai^aiii  the 
third  day,"  Thenceforward  He  endeavored  to  pre- 
pare Mis  disciples  for  His  death,  and  may  we  not 
reverently  say,  prepare  Himself  for  it?  Is  He 
transfif^ured  before  them  that  they  mii^ht  see  His 
glory  ?  jNIoses  and  Elijah  speak  with  Him  of  His 
exodus  or  dcatJi,  and  the  Lord  Himself  speaks  of  His 
own  suffering.  Again  and  again  He  speaks  of  this, 
until  the  time  approached.  After  His  discourse  on 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  about  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem and  the  judgment  of  the  world.  He  said, 
"  Ve  know  that  after  two  days  is  the  Passover,  and 
the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  to  be  crucified."  But 
in  the  afternoon  of  that  same  day,  ere  He  left  the 
Temple  for  the  last  time,  some  Gentiles,  Greeks,  not 
Grecians,  desire  to  see  Him.  Then  He  saw  in  them 
the  firstfruits  of  the  millions  of  the  Gentile  world 
He  came  to  bring  into  the  one  fold,  and  He  rejoiced. 
"  The  hour  is  come,  that  the  Son  of  man  should  be 
glorified."  But  thereupon  the  horror  of  great 
darkness  came  upon  Him,  and  He  said,  "  Now  is 
My  soul  troubled ;  and  what  shall  I  say?  Father,  save 
Me  from  this  hour  :  yet  for  this  cause  came  I  unto 
this  hour."  *  It  was  the  willing  offering  of  Himself 
in  the  Temple,  as  of  the  Lamb  without  spot  or  blem- 
ish, and  the  offering  was  accepted.  Then,  again, 
two  days  after,  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  the 
agony  became  intense,  such  as  we  cannot  conceive. 
Yet  it  was  voluntarily  undergone.     Do  we  not  hear 


i! 
I: 

■! 

! 

\ 


■f    «; 


I  ■ 


I  I 


*  St.  John  12  :  23  sq. 


ii.i» 


\  i$- 


I  .  'li] 


ii8 


THE  ATONEMENT. 


Him  say,*  "  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  now  pray 
to  My  Father,  and  He  shall  presently  give  Me  more 
than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  But  how,  then, 
shall  the  Scriptures  be  fulfilled,  that  thus  it  must 
be?" 

Others  have  faced  death  calmly,  why  then  was 
this  ?  Not  only  from  intense  knowledge  of  the 
physical  pain  and  suffering,  which  to  His  perfect 
organization  must  have  been  far  keener  than  to  any 
other  creature,  but  it  was  a  horror  of  soul,  which 
may  be  in  some  little  degree  conceived  in  the  awful 
cry,  "  My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken 
Me?"  God  had  proclaimed  over  man,  "  It  is  not 
good  that  man  should  be  alone."  This  was  not  said 
of  any  other  of  His  creatures.  Again  was  it  said, 
*'  Woe  unto  him  that  is  alone."  This  must  be  to 
teach  man  that  he  cannot  find  happiness  apart  from 
God — he  cannot  really  live  apart  from  God.  But  in 
the  moment  of  death  the  Lord  Jesus  as  man  was 
withdrawn  from  the  consolations  of  Deity,  we  might 
almost  think  from  the  consciousness  of  the  F'resence 
of  God.  To  man,  hardened  in  sin,  this  dereliction 
must  be  awful  indeed  ;  how  far  more  intense  in  its 
bitterness  must  it  have  been  to  the  Saviour.  De- 
serted by  His  friends,  alone,  so  far  as  human  sym- 
pathy is  concerned,  He  is  also  deserted  of  His 
Father  ;  the  agony  now  is  more  than  He  can  bear. 
The  thought  of  its  approach  was  so  full  of  agony  in 
the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  that  supernatural  strength 
had  to  be  infused  by  means  of  an  angel,  lest  He 
should  sink   under   it.     But  now  on   the  Cross  no 

*  St.  Matthew  26  :  53. 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


119 


I 


strenji^th  is  .nfused.  It  is  more  than  He  can  bear. 
His  heart  is  broken,  and  He  dies  from  horror  and 
f^rief  of  mind,  vohintarily  accepted,  rather  than 
from  pain  and  exhaustion  of  body. 

Thus  in  some  deeply  mysterious  way,  which  we 
cannot  fully  understand,  God  "  made  Him  to  be  sin 
for  us,  Who  knew  no  sin,"  and  "Christ  was  once 
offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many,"  as  it  had  been 
prophesied  of  old  that  "  the  Lord  laid  on  Him  the 
iniquity  of  us  all."  "  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins." 

Thenceforward  we  hear  in  the  Book  of  the  Reve- 
lation the  loving  and  thankful  adoration  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  creation,  uttering  a  new  s(3ng  of  i)raise 
to  the  Lamb,  and  to  the  Lamb  slain — the  Lamb  as  it 
had  been  slain.  The  continual  hymn  is  ever  going 
up,  "  Thou  art  worthy,  for  Thou  wast  slain  and  hast 
redeemed  us  to  God  by  Thy  Blood." 

But,  again,  He  is  also  the  Priest  who  offers  the  sin- 
offering.  This  was  foreshown  when  He  is  called 
the  Firstborn.  Mary  "  brought  forth  her  Son,  the 
Firstborn."  The  firstborn  son  was  ever  the  priest 
of  the  family,  until  the  whole  tribe  of  Levi  was  taken 
instead  of  the  firstborn.  It  was  foretold  when  the 
Psalmist  said,  **  Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after  the 
order  of  Melchisedec. "  The  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews shows  that  for  a  perfect  priest  there  was 
necessary  not  only  perfect  S3'mpathy  with  his 
brethren,  but  that  he  should  be  "  holy,  harmless, 
undefiled,  separate  from  sinners,  higher  than  the 
Heavens."  To  be  such  he  must  be  divine.  There- 
fore in  His  double  character  He  could  do  for  man 
what  man  alone  could  not  do  :  He  could  ofTcr  with 


..  -i 


120 


THE  ATONEMENT. 


m 


.1  ':U 


certainty   of  acceptance    a   i)crfcct  o(Tcrin«^    which 
could  not  be  refused. 

'•  Himself  the  Victim  and  Himself  the  Priest." 

Into  the  Holy  of  Holies  in  Heaven  has  our  Hi^h 
Priest  entered,  not  with  the  blood  of  others,  but 
with  His  own  Blood,  pleading;-  the  merits  of  that 
which  cannot  be  refused,  and  He  ever  liveth  to  make 
intercession  for  us. 

True  is  it  from  a  human  point  of  view  that  "  no  man 
may  deliver  his  brother,  nor  make  aj^reement  unto 
God  for  him  ;  for  it  cost  more  to  redeem  their  souls, 
so  that  he  must  let  that  alone  forever."  At  the 
same  time  the  law  had  laid  down,  "  One  of  his 
brethren  may  redeem  him,"  and  our  Firstborn 
Brother  has  redeemed  us. 

This,  then,  is  the  second  fii^^ure  of  the  savini^  char- 
acter of  our  Lord's  Death  ;  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  Ran- 
som, a  redemption,  a  purchasing  the  freedom  of  a 
slave  who  is  held  in  bondage.  The  Lord  Himself 
said  that  "  the  Son  of  man  came  to  give  His  Life  a 
ransom  for  many,"  and  St.  Paul  said  that  the  Saviour 
"  gave  Himself  a  ransom  lor  all."  This  is  difficult 
for  us  now  fully  to  understand,  and  we  may  not 
press  the  idea  in  all  its  points  any  more  than  we  can 
always  press  all  points  of  analogy  in  our  Lord's 
parables.  In  our  Lord's  day  the  idea  of  a  ransom 
was  perfectly  familiar.  Not  only  was  money  at 
times  paid  as  the  price  of  redemption,  but  sometimes 
one  life  was  given  to  save  another  from  death.  We 
need  not  stay  here  to  ask  to  whom  the  ransom  was 
to  be  paid,  lest  we  should  be  led  into  that  strange 
opinion  which  was  held  for  many  centuries,  that  the 


^11; 


■:s~s;s~ssss? 


1 


I 


lich 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


121 


ransom  was  i)aid  to  tlic  devil.  There  is  no  need  to 
ask  to  whom  the  ransom  was  to  be  paid  for  tlie  hfe 
of  an  animal.  "  Every  firstliniif  of  an  ass  thou  shalt 
redeem  with  a  lamb  ;  and  if  thou  wilt  not  redeem  it, 
then  thou  shalt  break  his  neck."  The  ransom  was 
to  be  i)aid  to  God  by  the  hands  of  His  priest.  "  The 
waj^es  of  sin  is  death,"  *'  death  had  passed  on  all 
men,  for  that  all  have  sinned."  But  the  death  of 
Christ  was  "  a  ransom  for  many,"  that  they  need 
not  be  put  to  death.  No  man  could  ransom  himself, 
still  less  his  brother.  But  "  God  so  loved  tiie  w  )rld 
that  He  gave  His  only  I3egotten  Son,"  Who  gave 
His  life  a  ransom  for  many. 

The  third  figure  employed  in  Scripture  is  that  of 
Atonement,  or  Reconciliation.  We  read  that  "  God 
was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself." 
Here,  then,  has  arisen  a  somewhat  hasty  attack  on 
the  language  of  our  second  article  which  has  been 
borrowed  from  the  Augsburg  Confession.  It  says 
that  Christ  "  truly  suffered,  was  crucified,  dead  and 
buried  to  reconcile  the  Father  to  us."  This  lan- 
guage is  said  to  be  unscriptural  ;  that  Scri})ture 
speaks  of  reconciling  man  to  God,  but  not  God  to 
man.  I  need  hardly  remind  you  how  Bishop  Fear- 
son  deals  with  this  question  in  his  treatise  on  the 
Creed,  in  expounding  the  Tenth  Article.^*  It  seems 
obvious  that  if  sin  alienates  at  all,  it  must  alienate 
both  parties  ;  and  so  far  as  we  are  sinners,  God  must 
be  alienated  from  us  ;  since  He  cannot  deny  Himself, 
He  cannot  be  other  than  He  is  ;  He  must  "  hate 
iniquity."     Certainly  the  phrase  of  the  Article  can 


*  See  Appendix  X. 


122 


TlIK   A  TO  N  KM  EN  T. 


■[     I:      1 


he  traced  to  earliest  times.  In  the  Liturgy  of  Ht. 
Clement,  so  called,  we  have  the  expression  more 
than  once,  "  The  Priest  was  i>leased  to  be  Himself 
the  Sacrifice,  the  wShepherd  a  sheep,  to  appease  Thee, 
His  God  and  Father,  to  reconcile  Thee  to  the  world, 
and  deliver  all  men  from  impendinj^  wrath  ;"  and 
aj^ain,  "  That  all  partakers  may  receive  remission 
of  their  sins,  thou,  O  Lord  Almighty,  being  recon- 
ciled to  them."  Earlier  than  this  St.  Clement  of 
Rome  urged  the  Corinthians  to  implore  God's  par- 
don, "  that  He  may  show  Himself  propitious  and  be 
reconciled  unto  us."  Indeed,  the  whole  passage  in 
the  Second  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Corinthians 
speaks  as  of  two  offended  parties,  God  and  man. 
God  is  represented  as  giving  up  His  wrath  and  being 
reconciled  in  Christ,  and  then  calling  on  man  to 
give  up  his  enmity  and  be  reconciled  to  God.  Hav- 
ing been  a  Sin-offering  for  us,  and  also  a  Ransom, 
Christ  has  become  our  Peace. 

Another  word  has  been  used  in  the  endeavor  to 
reach  a  fuller  understanding  of  the  Atonement,  but 
it  has  no  phrase  to  represent  it  in  the  Scriptures. 
It  is  that  the  Cross  and  F^ission  of  Christ  made  a 
"  full,  perfect,  and  sufficient  sacrifice,  oblation,  and 
satisfaction  for  the]sins  of  the  whole  world. ' '  The  life 
of  perfect  obedience  even  unto  death  and  the  death 
are  regarded  as  having  fully  satisfied  the  debt  which 
man  owed  to  God,  which,  like  the  ten  thousand  tal- 
ents of  the  parable-,  could  not  be  paid  by  man. 

Hitherto  we  have  spoken  of  the  objective  side  of 
this  deep  mystery,  and  may  God  pardon  the  feeble 
imperfection  of  the  words.  But  we  must  remember 
that  there  is  a  subjective  side.     True,  Christ  is  our 


i! 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


123 


Representative,  our  Head.  True,  most  true  (tliank 
God  for  it),  **  He  hath  made  us  accepted  in  the  Ik^- 
loved."  But  we  must  not  think  tliat  there  is  noth- 
ing recjuired  on  our  part.  Mcditatinjjj  on  the  death 
of  Christ,  we  must  realize  wiiata  terrible  thiiiLj  sin  is 
ill  God's  sij^ht,  and  we  must  endeavor  more  and 
more  to  hate  sin  as  God  hates  it.  This  should  lead 
us  to  consider  Christ  as  obeyinji^  God's  law  as  it 
affected  sinful  man,  and  as  triumi)hinjj^  over  tem|)ta- 
tion  and  sin  on  his  behalf  and  under  his  condition  ; 
and  then  faith  in  His  Blood  becomes  the  power  in 
which  we  can  learn  so  to  suffer  and  so  to  overcome. 
Then,  indeed,  will  the  imitation  of  Christ  be  our 
object  and  aim.  We  will  more  and  more  learn  to 
live  in  the  world  as  not  of  it,  as  He  was  in  the 
world,  yet  not  for  one  moment  divided  from  Heaven. 
Our  aim  should  be  that  we  be  "always  bearing 
about  in  the  body  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that 
the  life  also  of  Jesus  might  be  made  manifest  in  our 
body."*  The  Apostle  adds,  "For  we  wliich  live 
are  always  delivered  unto  death  for  Jesus'  sake, 
that  the  life  also  of  Jesus  might  be  made  manifest  in 
our  mortal  flesh."  We  should  strive  to  be  able  to 
say  with  truth  with  the  Apostle  :  "  I  am  crucified 
with  Christ  ;  nevertheless  I  live  ;  yet  not  1,  but 
Christ  liveth  in  me  ;  and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in 
the  flesh  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  Who 
loved  me,  and  gave  Himself  for  me."  f  We  should 
learn  to  say  with  Ignatius,  "  jNIy  lust  hath  been 
crucified,  and  there  is  no  fire  of  material  longing  in 
me,  but  only  water  living  and  speaking  in  me,  say- 


■''4- 


*  2  Corinthians  4  :  10,  li. 


f  Galatians  2  :  20. 


;l:ii 


II 1 1 


m^'i 


^% 


124 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


ini>;  within  nic.  Come  to  the  Father.  I  have  no  dc- 
lifj^ht  in  the  food  of  corruption,  or  in  the  delii^hts  of 
this  life.  I  desire  the  bread  of  God,  which  is  the 
flesh  of  Christ,  Who  was  of  the  seed  of  David  ;  and 
for  a  drau.i2:ht  I  desire  His  Blood,  which  is  love  incor- 
ruptible." * 

If  devout  consideration  of  the  Passion  of  Christ 
effect  in  us  a  due  apprehension  of  the  character  of 
sin,  then  shall  we  recos^nize  the  necessity  of  becom- 
ing and  beiui^  dead  unto  sin  and  alive  to  rii^hteous- 
ness,  and  then  for  us  Christ  will  not  have  died  in 
vain. 

This  helps  us  to  understand  the  language  of  the 
greatest  saints  of  God.  At  times  they  use  language 
in  deprcciati(Mi  of  self  which  seems  strained  and  un- 
real. It  is  because  they  have  entered  more  deeply 
into  the  mind  of  Christ  and  have  learned  to  begin 
to  hate  sin  as  God  hates  sin.  When  one  begins  to 
realize  what  sin  is  in  God's  sight,  then  he  feels  that 
none  can  have  so  offended  against  light  and  know- 
ledge  as  he  has  himself,  and  in  the  ray  ol  the  sparkle 
of  God's  infinite  holiness  he  is  compelled  to  acknow- 
ledge himself  the  chief  of  sinners. 

The  power  of  the  Cross  of  Christ  is  ever  fresh,  it 
exhibits  the  righteousness  and  the  love  of  God.  It 
shows  what  a  condemnation  our  sins  have  deserved, 
it  reveals  an  extent  of  mercy  we  could  not  conceive. 
"  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  Me." 

The  cry  of  the  Baptist  in  the  text  first  drew  dis- 
ciples after  the  Lord.  He  cried,  "  Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God,   \Vniich  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world, 


*  Epistle  to  the  Romans  7. 


THE   ATONEMENT. 


125 


and   the   two   disciples  heard   him   speak   and   tlicy 
followed  Him." 

God  i^rant  that  we  may  follow  llim  I  If  we  do  we 
shall  be  privik\<^ed  to  sin<^  Mis  praises  in  His  Temple 
in  Heaven,  and  this  will  be  the  burden  of  our  soni^, 
"  Thou  art  worthy,  for  Thou  wast  slain,  and  hast 
redeemed  us  to  God  hv  Thy  IJlood  out  of  every 
kindred,  and  tonijjue,  and  people,  and  nation."  "  Wor- 
thy is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  i)ower,  and 
riches,  and  wisdom,  and  streni^th,  and  honor,  and 
priory,  and  blessiuir."  "  Blessinj;,  and  honor,  and 
glory,  and  power,  be  unto  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
Throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and  ever."  ^^' 


*  Revelation  5  :  9,  12,  13. 


I\ 


i  n 


ill' 


I  n 

;      'If 


ii'ii 


1    ■  'i 

i; 

f 


I 


IMI^ 


!  . 


LECTURE  VI. 


THE  SACRAMENTS. 


"As  many  as  received  Him,  to  them  gave  He  pov  ^t  to  become 
the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  His  Name  ;  which 
were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will 
of  man,  but  of  God."— St.  Joh.n  i  :  12,  13. 


Christianity  is  the  only  religion  v/hic'^  may  be 
called  a  religion  of  the  body.  There  ^v.t.i  in  other 
religions  a  persuasion  that  the  soul  \v: .-,  imn  ortal, 
but  Christianity  alone  taught  the  Resurr  .ctiou  of  the 
rtesh.  In  popular  parlance  Christianity  is  spoken 
of  as  a  spiritual  religion,  and  doubtless  fb\s  is  true, 
but  it  is  the  great  exception  in  being  the  icllgiofi  ot 
the  do(/jy.  The  starting-point  for  this  is,  as  in  all 
other  things,  the  Incarnation.  That  is  the  key  to  all 
our  mysteries,  that  is  the  solvent  of  all  pcrj)lexities  ; 
'*  hold  fast  that  thou  hast"  in  this  great  doctrine,  and 
all  else  falls  into  its  place. 

Man  was  created  with  a  complex  nature  so  as  to 
embrace  somewhat  of  all  creation,  spiritual  ar.  i 
material.  He  was  created  so  as  to  form  the  focus, 
as  it  were,  in  which  all  the  rays  of  creation  centicd. 
He  was  created  as  one  being,  and  from  that  one 
being  all  mankind  has  been  developed.  The  Tncar- 
nation  explains  the  reason  of  this.  God  the  Son,  God 
the  Creator  had  prepared  a  creature  who  should  be 
a  microcosm,  a  summary  of  creation,  that  by  taking;* 


h 

fl 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


12: 


to  Himself  the  nature  of  this  creature,  He  might  join 
to  Himself  all  creation.  "The  Word  was  made 
flesh,  and  dwelt  among-  us." 

The  Incarnation,  then,  must  have  communicated 
blessing  to  every  part  of  creation,  since  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God,  is  in  living  union  with  all  creation 
through  man's  nature.  At  His  birth,  therefore, 
though  "  He  took  not  angels,  but  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham He  took  ;"  when  the  Gospel  was  announced 
and  the  angel  had  proclaimed  His  birth,  the  innu- 
merable companies  of  angels  at  once  were  revealed 
praising  God  for  His  meicy  ;  for  they,  too,  shared  in 
the  benefit  of  the  union  of  God  with  His  creature. 
Their  spiritual  perception  had  never  been  dimmed  ; 
they  became  at  once  conscious  of  the  commence- 
ment of  the  benefit,  infinite  in  its  possibilities  of 
development.  As  has  been  pointed  out,  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  each  angel  is  complete  in  him- 
self, each  has  his  own  peculiar  nature,  and  it  is  also 
believed  that  the  creation  of  angels  has  ceased — their 
number  is  complete.  If  this  be  so,  we  may  under- 
stand that  the  communication  of  the  benefit  derived 
to  the  whole  of  creation  at  the  Incarnation  was  made 
at  once  to  the  angels  with  unlimited  possibilities  of 
enlarofement.  But  with  mankind  this  was  not  so. 
Multitudes  had  passed  away  since  the  fall  of  Adam. 
Multitudes  were  yet  unborn.  How  were  they  to 
participate  in  the  blessedness  of  the  Incarnation  ? 

Man,  as  we  have  seen,  was  made  by  God,  and 
man  was  made  for  God  ;  his  only  hope  of  real  happi- 
ness is  being  in  union  Avith  God.  But  the  sin  of 
Adam  broke  this  union  beyond  the  power  of  man  to 
repair.     Not  only  so,  but  the  guilt  of  the  sin  by  itself 


I: 


iM 


i.:J: 


128 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


■      !i 


it 


/0 


prevented  union,  without  some  sacrifice  or  atone- 
ment being  made.  This,  as  we  liave  seen,  is  mys- 
terious, but  for:^iveness  is  in  itself  mysterious.  We 
may  ask,  How  can  the  breach  of  a  law  be  forg'iven  ? 
but  we  cannot  readil}'  receive  an  answer.  Sufficient 
for  us  must  the  fact  be  that  God  has  promised  for- 
giveness, and  that  "  the  Son  of  man  hath  power  on 
earth  to  forjjfive  sins."  The  Atonement  has  been 
made,  the  Sacrifice  has  been  offered.  Redemption  is 
complete.  Satisfaction  is  perfect.  The  great  barrier 
to  union  has  been  removed.  But  that  which  has 
been  won  for  all  must  be  applied  individually.  The 
M'^'on  with  God  must  be  restored  individually. 

'  the  first  Adam  the  union  with  God  was  granted, 
bui  m  such  a  manner  as  made  it  possible  that  the 
union  might  be  broken  if  man  did  not  keep  the  com- 
mandment. In  the  last  Adam  the  union  of  God  with 
man  was  so  intimate,  arising  from  the  Personal 
union  of  God  the  Son  with  man's  nature,  that  it  was 
impossible  that  it  should  ever  cease.  We  do  not 
know,  v.'C  need  not  ask,  whether  it  would  have  been 
possible  for  Adam  to  have  handed  on  this  union  to 
his  children  if  he  had  not  sinned.  He  did  sin,  and 
did  not  transmit  the  union  he  had  himself  lost,  for 
he  had  it  not  ;  therefore,  at  all  events,  he  could  not 
hand  it  on.  But  there  is  no  question  that  "  the  last 
Adam  was  made  a  quickening  Spirit,"  quickening, 
life-giving  ;  He  could  therefore  extend  His  life  of 
union  to  others.  "  I  am  come  (He  said)  that  they 
may  have  life,  and  have  it  more  abundantly."  *  We 
must,  therefore,  ask  how  this  blessing  may  be  ex- 


*  St.  John  10  :  lo. 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


129 


tended  to  us  ;  we  must  ask,  as  did  the  first  converts, 
"What  must  we  do  to  be  saved?"  The  answer 
will  be  the  same  as  ever.  The  Creator  requires  in 
the  first  instance  the  subjection,  the  willini^^,  free 
subjection  of  the  will  of  the  intellii^rent  acrent  to  His 
Will.  This  cannot  be  without  a  struji^gle,  as  indeed 
is  seen  in  the  Incarnate  Saviour.  His  Human  will 
was  bowed  to  the  Divine,  and  His  Human  soul  was 
wrunj^  in  the  conflict. 

We  believe  that  "  all  the  benefits  of  His  Passion" 
and  Mis  Incarnnlion  extend  backward  in  time  (as 
man  understands  time)  to  Adam,  and  forward  till 
time  shall  be  no  more.  There  is  not  so  much  diffi- 
culty about  understanding  that  livinf^  men  can  have 
the  opportunity  of  choice  granted  to  them,  as  about 
understanding  how  the  preceding  generations  could 
have  had  this  oi)portunity.  Human  reason  (to  speak 
reverently)  forbids  us  to  believe,  nay  revolts  from. 
the  arbitrary  decree  which  Calvinism  and  Moham- 
medanism pretend.  The  two  arc  certainly  similar. 
"  When  God,  so  runs  the  Moslem  tradition— I  had 
better  said  the  blasphemy— resolved  to  create  the 
human  race  He  took  into  His  Hands  a  mass  of 
earth,  the  same  whence  all  mankind  were  to  be 
formed,  and  in  which  they  after  a  manner  pre- 
existed  ;  and  having  then  divided  the  clod  into  two 
equal  portions.  He  threw  the  one  half  into  hell,  say- 
ing, 'these  to  eternal  fire,  and  I  care  not ;'  and  pro- 
jected the  other  half  into  Heaven,  adding,  '  and 
these  to  Paradise,  and  I  care  not.'"  Human  mo- 
rality revolts  against  such  blasphemy,  and  we  turn 
with  unutterable  relief  and  adoring  gratitude  to  the 
words  of  our  Creator,  "  God  so  loved  the  w^orld  that 
9 


!f  1 

wy 

J'. 

I ' 

if 

;! 

■ 

( 1 


II 


i; 


f5    |i 


ii 

^pl 

1  nSli 

|; 

ll 

130 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


He  gave  His  only  Begotten  wSon,  that  all  that  believe 
in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life." 
But  how  can  the  dead  "  believe  in  Him  of  Whom 
they  have  not  heard  ?" 

First,  then,  we  may  say  that  they  had  the  oppor- 
tunity, when  alive,  of  believing  by  faith  on  Him 
Who  was  to  come.  By  faith  "  Abraham  rejoiced  to 
see  the  Lord's  day,  and  saw  it,  and  was  glad."  In 
manifold  ways,  of  which  we  know  nothing,  there 
must  have  been  opportunities  granted  for  faith  in 
"  Him  that  is  coming."  Thus  Noah  was  a  preacher 
of  righteousness,  and  the  long  and  careful  preparation 
of  the  ark,  spreading  over  one  hundred  and  twenty 
years,  was  in  itself  a  practical  sermon  of  great  value, 
"iid  must  have  produced  an  effect  to  which,  as  we 
shall  see,  St.  Peter  refers. 

But  more  than  this.  Doubtless  all  will  be  struck 
u'iti>  the  great  stress  laid  upon  our  Lord's  death  in 
the  Apostles'  Creed,  The  absolute  reality  of  that 
death  is  emphasized  remarkably.  "He  suffered 
under  Pontius  Pilate,  was  crucified,  dead,  and  buried, 
He  descended  into  hell."  The  infinite  importance 
of  His  Resurrection  as  well  as  of  His  Death  gives  a 
reason  for  this.  To  exhibit  the  reality  of  the  separa- 
tion of  His  soul  from  His  body  (in  which  death 
natural  consists),  it  is  said  that  as  to  His  body  He 
was  buried  in  the  sepulchre  ;  as  to  His  invisible 
soul  and  spirit  He  descended  to  the  place  of  de- 
parted spirits.  This  latter  truth  is  regarded  by  our 
Church  of  such  importance  that  it  is  made  the  sub- 
ject of  a  separate  Article  ;  and  though,  when  the 
Articles  were  finally  issued,  a  clause  of  the  Article 
was  omitted  to  suit  some  minds,  yet  the  English 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


131 


Church  in  1549  altered  the  Epistle  for  Easter  Eve, 
and  in  1552  altered  the  first  lesson  for  Matins  of  that 
day  in  a  way  which  showed  her  own  mind.  Before 
1549  the  Epistle  was  the  same  as  we  now  have  for 
Easter  Day,  but  since  that  day  the  great  declaration 
of  St.  Peter  about  the  preachino;-  to  the  spirits  in 
prison  has  been  the  Epistle,  and  since  1552  the  Old 
Testament  lesson  for  Matins  has  been  the  ninth 
chapter  of  Zechariah,  where  we  read,  "  As  for  thee 
also,  by  the  blood  ot  thy  covenant  I  have  sent  forth 
thy  prisoners  out  of  the  pit  wherein  is  no  water. 
Turn  you  to  the  stronghold,  ye  prisoners  of  hope." 
Here,  as  appropriate  to  the  day  when  the  Sacred 
body  of  the  Lord  kept  Sabbath  in  the  tomb,  and 
His  spirit  was  active  foi  the  good  of  souk-  in  the 
place  of  departed  spirits,  the  prophecy  is  read  speak- 
ing of  His  rescue  of  the  prisoners  of  hope,  the  'spirits 
in  prison,  as  St.  Peter  says. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  about  the  meaning  of  the 
passage  in  St.  Peter.  The  more  the  accuracy  of 
Greek  grammar  is  acknowledged  the  more  clearly  is 
it  seen  that  St.  Peter  says  that  the  spirit  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  set  free  by  death  from  His  sacred 
body,  at  once  became  more  active  ("  quickened  in 
the  sphere  of  His  spirit"),  and  went  and  heralded 
forth  His  Gospel  "  to  the  spirits  in  prison  ;  which 
were  sometime  disobedient,  when  once  the  long- 
suffering  ot  God  w^aited  in  the  days  of  Noah."* 
This  distinctly  implies  that  some,  at  least,  of  those 
who  were  disobedient  in  the  days  of  Noah,  and  were 
visited  by  the  temporal  punishment  of  the  flood,  had 


m 


I  St.  Peter  3  :  18-20. 


If  t^ 


'Ts:  I 


132 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


an  C)pi)()rtunit3'  of  listening  to,  and  therefore,  we 
should  think,  of  profitir.g'  by  the  })reaching  of  the 
Gospel. 

St.  Irenrcus,  therefore,  could  say,"  "  For  this 
reason  also  the  Lord  descended  into  the  lower  parts 
of  the  earth,  preaching  the  Gospel  of  His  coming  to 
them  also,  since  remission  of  sins  was  manifested  for 
those  that  believe  on  Ilim."  Tertullian  also  could 
say,  with  that  excellent  terseness  which  is  his  char- 
acteristic, "  He  did  not  ascend  to  Heaven  '  'jfore  He 
descended  to  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth,  that  He 
might  there  make  the  })atriarchs  and  prophets /^yr- 
takcrs  of  Himself.''  f  As  has  been  said  elsewhere, 
"  The  Lord  having  been  born  the  tirst  begotten 
of  the  dead,  and  receiving  into  His  bosom  the  an- 
cient fathers,  regenerated  them  into  the  life  of  God." 
The  two  statements  may  well  be  taken  to  explain 
one  the  other.  He  regenerated  them  by  making 
them  partakers  of  Himself,  and  this  in  some  mysteri- 
ous way  in  connection  with  His  descent  into  Hades. 

Thus,  then,  we  may  believe  that  He  made  the  dis- 
embodied spirits  partakers  of  the  salvation  procured 
for  them  as  for  us.  But  for  those  still  in  the  body 
there  was  a  different  scheme  whereby  the  Incarna- 
tion was  to  be  extended  to  the  individual. 

Here,  then,  we  should  naturally  expect  that  as 
Christianity  is  a  religion  of  the  body  as  well  as  of 
the  soul  and  spirit,  affecting  and  consecrating  the 
whole  of  man's  nature,  "  ourselves,  our  souls  and 
bodies,"  so  there  should  be  some  external  means  of 
grace  affecting  the  body,  and  through  it  the  soul  and 


*  Adv.  Hacf.,  IV.,  xxvii.  2. 


f  "  De  Anima,"  Iv. 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


133 


we 


spirit  which  inhabit  tlic  bod}',  and  at  present  derive 
their  knowlcdi^e  throuirii  the  body.  Here  on  earth 
if  one  spirit  of  a  man  desires  to  communicate  with 
another  it  is  by  means  of  the  body.  If  a  man  wishes 
to  learn  God's  Word  and  Mis  Will,  it  is  ordinarily  by 
means  of  the  body  ;  he  either  reads  it  as  printed  or 
written,  or  hears  it  read  in  his  ears.  It  is  ordinarily 
a  law  of  God  (so  far  as  we  can  recognize  law)  to 
work  in  the  visible  world  by  visible  means,  and  to 
teach  man  about  spiritual  and  invisible  thin«^s  by 
means  of  bodily  and  visible  things  with  which  he  is 
cognizant.  It  is  an  erroneous  and  false  view  which 
endeavors  to  minimize  the  importance  of  tiie  body 
and  to  depreciate  it.  The  fact  that  God  the  Son 
took  to  Himself  a  body  and  shrouded  Mis  glory 
behind  a  veil  of  matter  should  teach  us  the  impor- 
tance of  matter.  The  Incarnation  was  termed  a  sac- 
rament by  the  ancient  Fathers,  and  similarly  those 
sacred  and  special  means  whereby  the  Incarnation 
is  extended  and  applied  to  the  individual  man  were 
also  called  sacraments. 

The  Incarnation  was  not  merely  for  man's  sake,  it 
was  not  an  accommodation  to  man's  comprehension, 
that  man  might  appreciate  and  understand  what  God 
was  doing  for  him.^  It  was  also  to  elevate  and  con- 
secrate the  nature  He  had  assumed  ;  as  St.  Athana- 
sius  loved  to  say,  "  God  became  man  that  men  might 
become  gods."  By  the  Incarnation  were  united 
God  and  man.  Heaven  and  earth.  In  pursuance  of 
this  glorious  design,  the  Lord  Jesus  instituted  the 
sacred  means  of  grace  which  we  call  sacraments, 
which  have  by  His  appointment  a  Heavenly  and 
spiritual  part,  and  also  an  earthly  and  visible  part  ; 


'Vi 


t        ■   ii 


m 


\m 


rt'ii./ 


..^'' 


134 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


J 


■    t; 


,        I     t 


i'f''   I 


the  invisible  and  spiritual  part  beini^  attached  to  and 
conveyed  by  the  visible  and  material  part  in  some 
mysterious  manner,  in  consequence  of  Mis  appoint- 
ment. 

Here,  too,  we  may  observe  that  in  a  remarkable 
manner  similar  errors  show  themselves  with  respect 
to  the  sacraments  as  had  been  displayed  with  re- 
spect to  the  Incarnation.  Eutyches  had  said  that 
the  human  nature  had  been  so  absorbed  and  assimi- 
lated into  the  Divine,  that  it  had  become  lost  as  a 
drop  of  vincii^ar  would  be  in  the  ocean.  So  that  the 
Eutychian  heresy  denied  practically  the  separate 
existence  of  the  two  natures.  Similarly,  in  respect, 
at  least,  of  one  of  the  sacraments,  the  outward  part 
was  said  by  some  erroneous  teaching  to  have  been 
completely  annihilated  by  the  inward  and  spiritual 
part.  Theodoret  adduces  the  analogy  of  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  Holy  Eucharist  to  make  plain  the  teach- 
ing about  the  truth  of  the  Incarnation.  It  has  been 
also  thought  that  the  heresy  of  Nestorius  has  its 
counterpart  in  the  error  of  those  who  "  say  that  the 
sacramental  action  typifies  in  the  external  order  a 
spiritual  process  taking  place  pari  passu  in  the  un- 
seen." 

The  sacraments,  then,  derive  their  force  solely 
from  the  institution  of  the  Saviour  Himself,  or  of 
His  Apostles  under  His  direction  and  the  inspiration 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  No  man  can  invent  a  sacrament 
for  himself  ;  none  has  the  least  authority  to  say  this 
or  that  ceremony  shall  be  the  means  of  bestovving 
grace,  unless  there  be  scriptural  authority  for  the 
same.  Otherwise  we  may  have  the  same  mistake 
that  was  made  by  Micah  when  he  engaged  the  de- 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


135 


scendant  of  Moses  as  his  chaplain,  "  Now  know  I 
that  the  Lord  will  do  me  ^ood,  seeinjj^  1  have  a 
Levite  to  my  priest."  wSome  seem  to  say,  "  Now 
all  is  ri<;ht,  for  I  have  a  priest,  or  deacon,  for  my 
bishop." 

With  respect  to  the  number  of  the  sacraments 
there  need  not  be  much  serious  controversy.  Tiie 
number  often  depends  upon  the  meanin<(  iittaclied 
to  the  word,  which  was  defined  with  more  and 
more  accuracy  as  the  centuries  of  Christian  thou<;ht 
passed  away.  The  Greeks  called  the  sacred  instru- 
ment or  institution  a  "mystery,"  which  the  Latins 
translated  "  sacrament."  The  Latin  word  was  orii^- 
inally  a  legal  term  for  the  security  or  caution  money 
paid  into  court  by  the  parties  to  a  suit.  Thence  it  be- 
came a  military  term,  first  for  the  preliminary  en- 
gagement for  service  and  then  for  the  oath  wiiich 
bound  the  soldier  to  his  standard.  From  this  the 
word  was  pressed  into  the  service  of  Christianity  as 
meaning  any  matter  of  deep  teaching,  and  then  as 
we  commonly  understand  it  in  the  present  day. 

If,  then,  we  understand  the  word  in  the  first 
Christian  sense  of  mystery,  the  number  of  sacraments 
is  practically  unlimited.  Thus  when  St.  Jerome 
says  of  the  Book  of  Revelation  that  "  the  very  order 
in  which  the  words  occur  is  itself  a  sacrament, ''  and 
when  St.  Augustine  says  that  the  deluge  in  the  time 
of  Noah  was  a  sacrament,  they  use  the  term  in  its 
widest  sense.  The  question  of  the  meaning  of  the 
word  is  so  carefully  explai::Lfi  in  the  second  Book  of 
Homilies  of  the  Church  of  England,  that  the  whole 
passage  is  here  given. 

"  Now  you  shall  hear  how  many  sacraments  there 


M 


mmak 


[:•■ 


136 


TIIK   SACRAMKNTS. 


be,  tliut  were  instituted  by  our  Saviour  Clirisl,  and 
are  to  l)C  continued,  and  received  of  ever)  Christian 
in  due  time  and  order,  and  for  such  purpose  as  our 
Saviour  Christ  willed  them  to  be  received.  And  as 
for  the  number  of  them,  if  tiie}'  sliould  be  considered 
accordin<^  to  the  exact  sij^nification  of  a  sacrament — 
namely,  for  the  visible  sii^ns,  expressly  commanded 
in  the  New  Testaiiu  nt,  whereunto  is  ai  cd  the 
promise  of  free  forij^iveness  of  our  sin,  and  of  our 
holiness  and  joining-  in  Ciirist,  there  be  but  two  — 
namely,  Baptism  and  the  vSupper  of  the  Lord.  For 
althou^jjii  Absolution  hath  the  promise  of  for<;ivcness 
of  sin,  yet  by  the  express  word  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment it  hath  not  this  promise  annexed  and  tied  to 
the  visible  sign,  which  is  imposition  of  hands.  For 
this  visible  sign  (I  mean  laying  on  of  hands)  is  not 
expressly  commanded  in  the  New  Testament  to  be 
used  in  Absolution,  as  the  visible  signs  in  Baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Su[iperare  ;  and  therefore  A'  "ution 
is  no  such  sacrament  as  Baptism  and  the  Co  luion 
are.  And  though  the  ordering  of  ministers  hath  his 
visible  sign  and  promise,  yet  it  lacks  the  promise  of 
remission  of  sin,  as  all  ot/ier  sacraments  beside  the  tw^o 
above-named  do.  Therefore  neither  it  nor  any 
other  sacrament  else  be  such  sacraments  as  Bap- 
tism and  the  Communion  are.  But  in  a  general  ac- 
ception,  the  name  of  a  sacrament  may  be  attributed 
to  anything'  whereby  a  holy  thing  is  signified.  Li 
which  understanding  of  the  word  the  ancient  writers 
have  given  this  name  not  only  to  the  other  five, 
commonly  of  late  years  taken  and  used  for  the  sup- 
plying the  number  of  the  seven  sacraments,  but  also 
to  divers  and  sundry  other  ceremonies,  as  to  oil, 


N 


THE   SACKAMKNTS. 


137 


I 


wasliiiiLj'  oi  fcc't,  and  siicli  like,  not  nicaniiiij^  tlicrcby 
to  repute  them  as  sacraments  in  the  same  si^"nifi- 
cation  tiiat  tlie  two  forenamed  sacraments  are." 

A  sacrament,  then,  j^enerally  speakinjj;^,  is  an  out- 
ward and  sensible  token  ol  some  inward  and  deeper 
meaninyf  or  ufrace  to  he  conveyed  thereby,  lint  in 
the  case  of  the  two  "  sacraments  of  the  (lospel,"  as 
they  are  called,  in  the  narrowest  and  strictest  sense 
as  defined  by  the  FMii^lish  Church,  they  are  "out- 
ward and  visible  sii^ns  of  an  inward  and  sj)iritual 
grace,  ordained  by  Christ  I  limself  as  a  means  whereby 
we  receive  the  same  inward  grace,  and  a  pledge  to 
assure  us  that  we  do  receive  it  and  also  as  generally, 
I.e.,  universally,  necessary  to  salvation." 

Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor*  rightly,  therefore,  calls 
one  of  them  the  "  extension  ot  the  Incarnation,"  and 
as  the  glorious  Pivine  nature  of  the  Incarnate  Lord 
was  shrouded  and  veiled  in  the  llesh,  and  yet  "  the 
light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  (lod  was  in 
the  face  of  Jesus  Christ,"  in  so  marvellously  mys- 
terious a  manner  that  He  could  say,  "  He  that  hath 
seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father,"  so  in  the  sacraments 
the  inward  part  or  thing  signified  is  (as  says  the 
homily)  "  annexed  and  tied  to  the  visible  sign"  in 
such  a  manner  that  when  the  visible  sign  is  ap[)lied 
to  the  body,  the  soul  is  in  touch  with  the  inward 
grace.  Well  indeed  then  must  we  believe  that 
Christianity  is  a  religion  of  the  body  ;  and  well  did 
Tertullian  draw  special  attention  to  this  in  his  treatise 
on  the  Resurrection  of  the  flesh. 


*  "  The  Fathers  by  an  elegant  expression  called  the  blessed  sacra- 
ment the  extension  of  the  Incarnation"  (Works,  ed.  Eden,  vol. 
viii.,  p.  23). 


j; 


'  i 


if 


' 


lis  'I  ■'      i      '   ' 


I  I. 


i!  •  i  ' 


138 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


,^'- 


*>■  i  I 


1  *  ' 

■  ■  t ; " 

"  Let  us  now  consider  (he  writes*),  in  respect  of 
the  peculiar  character  of  Christianity,  how  great  a 
privilege  in  God's  sight  is  given  to  this  paltry  and 
squalid  substance,  though  it  might  be  enough  to  say 
that  no  soul  could  achieve  salvation  unless  it  believed 
while  it  was  in  the  flesh — to  such  an  extent  does  sal- 
vation hinge  on  the  flesh — of  which  salvation,  when 
the  soul  is  elected  to  God's  Church,  the  flesh  it  is 
which  enables  the  soul  to  be  elected.  Undoubtedly 
the  flesh  is  washed  that  the  soul  may  be  cleansed  ; 
the  flesh  is  anointed  that  the  soul  may  be  conse- 
crated ;  the  flesh  is  sealed  that  the  soul  may  be  forti- 
fied ;  the  flesh  is  shadowed  by  the  imposition  of  hand 
that  the  soul  may  be  illuminated  by  the  Spirit ;  the 
flesh  feeds  on  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ  that  the 
soul  may  be  well  nourished  on  God." 

But,  as  has  been  said,  the  whole  virtue  of  the  sac- 
raments is  derived  from  God,  because  of  the  institu- 
tion by  Christ  Himself.  He  instituted  them  and 
commanded  them  to  be  continued,  and  ordained  that 
they  should  be  ministered  by  the  hands  of  men. 
Hence  we  must  be  well  assured  that  the  validity  of 
the  sacraments  does  not  depend  upon  the  piety  of 
the  minister.  The  unvvorthiness  of  the  minister  can- 
not in  any  way  hinder  the  effect  of  the  sacrament  in 
itself ;  for  they  are  "  effectual  because  of  Christ's  in- 
stitution and  promise,  although  they  be  ministered 
by  evil  men."  If  this  were  not  so,  St.  Augustine 
argues,  man's  trust  in  God  alone  would  be  weakened, 
and  trust  in  the  worthiness  of  man  as  the  minister 


*  "  De  Resurrectione  Carnis,"  viii.,  ed.  Oehler,  Tom.  II.,  p.  478  ; 
ed.  Rigalt,  Paris,  1675,  p.  330. 


, 


1 

^ 


T^,*  «"''-'»4.< 


a 
d 

y 


1 


f 


f 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


139 


would  take  its  place.  Nor,  again,  does  the  inward 
and  spiritual  grace  in  the  sacrament  depend  upon 
the  faith  or  spiritual  understanding  of  the  receiver. 
The  grace  offered  is  ever  the  same  ;  this  does  not  de- 
pend upon  the  intellectual  or  spiritual  effort  of  the 
receiver.  But  the  benefit  received  need  not  neces- 
sarily be  the  same  to  all,  for  in  some  there  may  be 
interposed  an  obstacle  from  unrepented  sin,  which 
may  prevent  or  retard  the  spiritual  assimilation  of 
the  grace  offered. 

The  first  requisite  for  the  salvation  of  the  indi- 
vidual man  is  union  witli  God.  This  can  only  be 
through  the  Incarnate  Lord.  The  initial  sacrament 
whereby  this  union  is  effected  is  Baptism.  All  the 
promises  of  the  New  Testament  are  to  those  who 
are  "in  Christ,"  "in  the  Lord."  Baptism  is  the 
sacrament  whereby  we  are  "  made  members  of 
Christ,  children  of  God,  and  heirs  of  Heaven  ;"  in 
and  by  this  sacrament  we  become  incorporated  into 
Christ,  even  married  to  Him,  "  members  of  His 
body,  of  His  flesh,  and  His  bones."* 

Hence  we  find  that  great  importance  is  attached 
to  this  in  the  teaching  of  the  Lord  and  His  Apostles. f 
It  was  the  command  given  during  the  Great  Forty 
Days  of  the  sojourn  upon  earth  of  the  Risen  Lord, 
"  Go  ye  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the 
Name  ot  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  tiie  Holy 
Ghost."  Therefore  when  the  three  thousand  who 
had  been  converted  on  the  day  of  l^entecost  by  St. 
Peter's  sermon  cried  out,  "  What  shall  we  do?"  the 
answer  came  at  once  to  them — and  we  must  take  it  to 


*  Ephesians  5  :  30. 


f  See  Appendix  Y. 


n 

Hi 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 

ourselves—"  Repent  and  be  baptized,  every  one  of 
you,"  and  they  were  then  and  there  baptized,  all  of 
them.  This  was  what  Ananias  said  to  Saul,  who 
had  been  converted,  "  Arise,  and  be  baptized,  and 
wash  away  thy  sins."  So  said  St.  Paul,  "  As  many 
of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have  put 
on  Christ.""^ 

Looking  back  into  the  history  of  God's  dealings 
with  His  creatures,  we  see  intimations  of  this.  At 
the  first  regeneration  of  the  world  the  Holy  wSi)irit 
"  sat  brooding"  like  a  dove  over  the  waters,  and  the 
first  evidence  of  life  that  scie  -e  has  found  is  sub- 
marine, f  St.  Peter  points  out  that  the  deluge  in 
the  time  of  Noah  is  a  type  of  Baptism  ;  so,  too,  the 
passage  of  the  Red  Sea,  when  the  Israel  of  God  was 
saved  and  their  enemies  were  drowned  ;  so,  too,  the 
passage  of  the  Jordan  and  the  cleansing  of  Naaman. 
All  were  typical  of  Baptism,  as  was  also  the  great 
brazen  lavcr  in  the  Tabernacle,  where  the  priests 
washed  before  approaching  their  ministry. 

If  we  seek  for  prophecies,  they  abound  every- 
where. Isaiah  :|:  speaks  of  "drawing  water  with  joy 
from  the  wells  of  salvation."  Jeremiah  §  cries,  "  O 
Jerusalem,  wash  thine  heart  from  wickedness,  that 
thou  may  est  be  saved."  Ezekiel  ||  tells  of  the 
water  flowing  from  the  house  of  God,  "  And  every- 
thing shall  live  whither  the  river  cometh."  Ioel,^[ 
tr>o,  had  said,  "A  fountain  shall  come  forth  of  the 
house  of  the  Lord,  and  shall  water  the  valley  of 
Shit«'ii."     Zechariah  **  again   said,    "In  that  day 


*  Galatians  3  :  27. 
%  Jeremiah  4  :  14. 
♦*  Zechariah  13  :  i. 


f  See  Appendix  Z. 
II  Ezekiel  47  :  i,  9. 


X  Isaiah  12  :  3. 
•[  Joel  3  :  18. 


i  I 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


141 


there  shall  be  a  fountain  opened  to  the  house  of 
David  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  for  sin 
and  for  uncleanness. " 

But  thoui^h  there  were  types  and  j^rophccies, 
there  was  no  actual  rite  of  baptism  until  the  fore- 
runner, John,  introduced  it,  and  therefore  became 
known,  by  the  special  peculiarity  of  his  ministry,  as 
"the  Baptist."  It  is  true  that  after  his  time  the 
Jews  introduced  a  baptism  in  addition  to  circum- 
cision for  their  converted  proselytes,  but  there  is  710 
evidence  that  such  a  ceremony  existed  before  his 
time.  When  in  the  Book  of  Judith  we  read  of  Achior 
being  joined  to  the  house  of  Israel  there  is  no  word 
of  baptism.  "  When  Achior  had  seen  all  that  the 
God  of  Israel  had  done,  he  believed  in  God  greatly, 
and  circumcised  the  flesh  of  his  foreskin,  and  was 
joined  unto  the  house  of  Israel  unto  this  day."* 
The  whole  tone  of  the  Apocryphal  history  makes  it 
most  probable  that  if  the  ceremony  of  bai)tism  were 
in  use  then  as  part  of  the  reception  of  a  proselyte, 
it  would  have  been  mentioned.  Again,  Josephus 
makes  no  mention  of  it  in  this  connection,  and  the 
first  reference  we  find  is  considerably  posterior  to 
John  the  Baptizer. 

Our  Blessed  Lord  condescended,  as  our  Represent- 
ative, to  submit  to  this  external  rite  ot  repentance  ; 
though  He  had  nothing  to  repent  of,  yet  "  it  be- 
came" Him  to  do  all  that  one  of  I  lis  time  and  race 
should  have  done.  And  by  Mis  Ba})tism  He  insti- 
tuted once  and  forever  the  sacrament  of  Bai)tism, 
making  it  instinct  with  grace  and  vivifying  power. 


':! 


Judith  14  :  10.    See  Appendix  AA. 


m 


\\-\ 


142 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


,  \ 


i 


*"!• 


Rightly,  therefore,  do  we  acknowledge  that  Al- 
mighty God,  "  by  the  Baptism  of  His  Well  beloved 
Son  in  the  River  Jordan,  did  sanctify  the  element  of 
water  to  the  mystical  washing  away  of  sin." 

In  modern  times  a  question  has  been  raised  about 
the  ifiodf  of  baptism,  and  on  this  continent  a  large 
number  have  separated  from  the  Church,  under  the 
impression  that  no  baptism  is  valid  that  does  not 
cause  the  total  submersion  of  the  subject  in  water. 
The  two  things  absolutely  necessary  to  valid  bap- 
tism are  the  use  of  water  and  the  use  of  the  words 
of  institution.  The  mode  of  the  application  of  water 
has  not  been  prescribed.  In  the  lately  discovered 
tract,*  dating  from  the  beginning  of  the  second  cen- 
tury (if  not  from  the  end  of  the  first),  this  is  clearly 
seen.  The  passage  is  as  follows  :  "  Concerning 
baptism  ;  baptize  thus  :  having  said  all  this  before- 
hand, baptize  in  running  water.  In  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
But  if  you  have  not  running  water,  baptize  in  other 
water ;  if  you  cannot  in  cold  water,  then  in  warm. 
But  if  you  have  not  either,  pour  water  thrice  upon 
the  head."  This  is  much  like  the  rubric  of  our 
Church,  "it  shall  suffice  to  pour  water;"  for  the 
Church  does  not  sanction  sprinkling. 

For  the  minister  of  this  all- important  sacrament, 
while  it  is  better  to  have  a  priest  of  the  Church, 
yet  "  Baptism  by  any  man  in  case  of  necessity  was 
the  voice  of  the  whole  world  heretofore. "f  This  is 
clearly  seen  in  the  controversy  in  Africa,  where  St. 


*  "  The  Teaching  of  ihe  Apostles,"  ch.  vii. 
\  Hooker,  "  Ecclesiastical  Polity,"  V.,  Ixi.,  g  3. 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


143 


Cyprian  for  a  time  prevailed  on  the  African  bishops 
to  follow  him  in  a  deviation  from  the  tradition  of  the 
Church  in  ignorinj^  heretical  baptism  ;  but  as  St. 
Augustine  pointed  out,  the  deviation  was  wrong  and 
was  set  straight  by  reverting  to  the  ancient  custom 
of  the  Church  without  the  intervention  of  a  council. 
It  was  held  that  in  this  necessary  sacrament  it  was 
Christ  Himself  that  really  gave  the  inward  grace, 
whoever  was  the  ministerial  agent  to  pour  water  and 
say  the  words. 

In  and  by  Baptism  two  great  and  glorious  gifts 
are  bestowed,  regeneration  and  remission  of  sins. 
These  are  mentioned  in  the  Confirmation  prayer, 
"  Thou  hast  vouchsafed  to  regenerate  these  Thy 
servants  by  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  hast 
given  unto  them  forgiveness  of  all  their  sins."  * 
Baptism  is  not  only  a  laver,  or  washing,  it  is  the 
"  washing  of  regeneration."  The  Church  always 
understood  for  fifteen  hundred  years  that  our  Lord's 
words  to  Nicodemus  were  of  Holy  Baptism  :  "  Ex- 
cept a  man  be  born  again  of  water  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  he  cannot  enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 
Our  service  is  speaking  the  truth  of  God  when  it 
says  that  we  are  "  by  Baptism  regenerate,"  and  that 
we  are  by  Baptism  "  made  children  of  God."  This, 
too,  "  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  Hesh,  nor 
of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God."  Our  first  genera- 
tion or  birth  was  not  dependent  upon  our  own  will 
or  our  own  consciousness  ;  our  regeneration  or  sec- 
ond birth,  the  Apostle  points  out,  is  equally  indepen- 
dent of  our  own  will,  but  in  this  case  it  is  the  will 


i    .-'.:  I 


H-    1 


t 


*  See  Appendix  BB. 


i};  ,^ 


l(ii 


I ,  n 


144 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


and  act  of  God  alone.  Therefore,  as  the  angels  are 
called  sons  of  God  because  each  owes  his  being  and 
existence  to  God  alone,  without  the  intervention  ot 
any  other,  so  the  Apostle  calls  us  sons  of  God,  be- 
cause it  is  by  God's  will  and  act  alone  \^!;hough  not 
ordinarily  independent  of  Baptism)  that  we  are  re- 
generate and  born  ancu\ 

Thus,  though  it  is  perfectly  true  that,  as  St.  Irc- 
na,>us  has  said,*  "  What  we  lost  in  Adam  is  restored 
in  Christ,"  yet  we  have  much  more  privilege  than 
Adam  had.  We  are  s(jns  of  God,  not  onlv  in  the 
same  sense  that  all  created  beings  may  be  so  called, 
but  in  the  far  higher  sense  of  special  "adoption," 
whereby  our  Blessed  Saviour  has  become  "  the  first- 
born among  many  brethren."  We  hereby  become, 
as  St.  Peter  says,  "  partakers  of  the  Divine  nature," 
so  that,  as  St.  Athanasius  loved  to  say,  "  God  be- 
came man,  that  we  men  might  be  deified."  "  Be- 
loved (said  the  x\postle),  710:^'  are  we  the  sons  of  God  ;" 
now,  that  is  in  this  present  world,  "  What  manner  of 
love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  on  us,  that  we  should 
be  called  the  sons  of  God."  f 

The  second  glorious  gift  is  "  forgiveness  of  sins." 
The  precious,  inestimable  blessing  of  forgiveness, 
won  for  all  by  the  atoning  blood  of  Christ,  is  applied 
to  each  primarily  in  and  by  Baptism.  "  Be  baptized 
every  one  of  you  for  the  remission  of  sins,"  said  St. 
Peter.:}:  "  Arise  and  be  baptized  and  wash  away 
thy  sins,"  said  Ananias. §  It  is  intimately  connected 
with  regeneration,  as  we  say  in  prayer,  "  Grant  that 


i  ' 


*  Adv.  Hitr.  III.,  xviii.,  §  i,  Paris,  1710,  p.  209. 

f  I  St.  John  3  :  i,  2.  ,    J  Acts  2  :  38,  ^  Acts  22  :  16. 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


U5 


this  child  coming  to  Thy  Moly  Baptism  may  receive 
remission  of  sins  by  spiritual  regeneration. ' '  Regener- 
ation were  impossible  (to  speak  humanly)  unless  for- 
giveness were  either  simultaneous  or  antecedent. 
If  Baptism  conveys  the  glorious  privilege  of  regener- 
ation, if  at  that  time  by  the  will  of  God  we  are  made 
the  sons  of  God,  there  must  be  at  the  same  time  for- 
giveness. We  say,  therefore,  in  our  Creed,  "  I  ac- 
knowledge one  Baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins." 
Hence  the  continual  reference  to  the  washinir  and 
so  cleansing  power  of  Baptism. 

Here,  then,  though  we  may  not  tell  beforehand 
what  will  be  the  outward  means  of  grace,  and 
though  this  depends  wholly  upon  the  will  and  insti- 
tution  of  God,  yet  after  the  institution  we  may  sec 
how  appropriate  the  outward  means  are  to  the  in- 
ward grace.  Thus  as  water  is  the  natural  means  of 
cleansing  the  body,  so  it  is  taken  as  the  symbol  of 
the  cleansing  the  soul ;  and  we  have  the  phrases 
"  wash  avvay  thy  sins,"  "  that  your  sins  may  be 
blotted  out,"*  by  anointing,  which  have  reference 
to  the  water  of  Baptism. 

Hence,  too,  we  may  see  that  the  error  which 
would  restrict  Baptism  to  adult  age  has  no  founda- 
tion in  wScripture  or  the  meaning  of  the  sacrament. 
Life  spiritual  is  an  absolutely  free  gift,  as  free  as  life 
natural.  As  life  natural  does  not  depend  u[)on 
the  will  of  the  recipient,  so  life  spiritual  does  not 
depend  upon  the  will  of  the  recipient.  A  confused 
opinion  does  not  distinguish  between  conversion, 
which  is  a  conscious  act  of  the  will,  and  regenera- 


m 


*  Acts  3  :  19. 


10 


I  ll 


r  I 


'    /  11 


i\n 


146 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


tion,   which  ordinarily  is  not  accompanied  by  con- 
sciousness, and  is  wliolly  independent  of  the  will  of 
man.      "  They   are   born,    not  of  blood,   nor  of  the 
will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God." 
Whether  we  regard  the  gilt  of  s[)iritual  life  or  the 
gift  of  cleansing,  it  is  surely  imi)ossible  to  say  that 
infants  are  not  tit  subjects  for  Baptism.      Had  not 
infants   been   perfectly   capable   of   grace,  the   Lord 
would  not  have  blessed  them  ;  the  rebuke  of  those 
who  brought  the  infants   came    from    the  disciples 
whose    understandings   had    not   been    opened,  and 
caused  the  Lord's  disi)leasure.      We  can    well   in- 
deed enter  into  the  feelings  of  those  modern  con- 
verts from  heathenism  who  repudiated  the  so-called 
Baptist  community  (tlu)ugh  by  their  means  they  had 
been   brought  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ)  because 
their  children  were  denied  admission  to  the  same 
covenant  with  God  as  themselves.     They  repudiated 
teaching    which    excluded    their   families   from    the 
Church  of  God. 

From  the  account  of  the  conversion  and  Baptism 
of  the  Samaritans  by  the  Deacon  Philip,'^  we  learn 
that  Baptism  itself  was  incomplete  in  its  full  privilege 
without  the  laying  on  of  Apostolic  hands.  Before 
the  Apostles  came  down  we  read  "  they  were  only 
baptized,"  or  more  exactly,  as  the  Greek  is  more 
particular,  "  they  were  only  in  the  state  of  having 
been  baptized  ;"'the  very  phrase  implies  that  this 
alone  did  not  admit  them  to  the  full  privilege  of 
membership  in  the  Church.  They  had  been  ad- 
vanced one  stage,  there  was  another  glorious  privi- 


*  Acts  8  :  12-17. 


I 


). 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


M7 


lc<:fc  in  store  for  them,  "  the  jj^iftof  the  Holy  Ohost." 
The  communication  of  this  <;ift  followed  upon  rc- 
ij^cncration,  but  was  a  separate  act.  As  the  Apostle 
said,  '*  Because  ye  arc  sons  God  hatli  sent  forth  the 
Spirit  of  His  Son  into  your  hearts."  *  The  l)estowal 
of  this  gift  was  subseciuent  to  the  gift  of  a(h)i)tion. 
This,  too,  was  seen  in  the  Baptism  of  the  Lcjrd,  as 
the  early  Christian  writers  rejoiced  to  trace.  Thus 
the  African  Bishop  Optatus,  about  370  A.D.,  wrote  : 
"  The  Lord  descended  into  the  water,  not  that  there 
was  anything  in  God  that  re(iuired  cleansing,  but 
that  water  must  precede  the  oil  that  was  to  come  on 
Him,  that  He  might  initiate,  and  ordain,  and  com- 
plete the  mysteries  of  Bai)tism.  When  He  had  been 
bathed  in  the  hands  of  John,  the  order  of  the  mys- 
tery followed,  and  the  Father  completed  wdiat  the 
Son  had  prayed  for  and  the  Spirit  had  announced. 
The  Heaven  was  opened,  the  Father  anointed  ;  im- 
mediately the  oil  of  the  Spirit  descended  in  the  shape 
of  a  Dove  and  settled  on  His  Head,  and  anointed 
Him  with  oil,  and  from  that  time  He  began  to  be 
called  Christ  or  the  Anointed  One,  because  He  was 
then  anointed  by  God  the  Father.  And  lest  He 
should  seem  to  lack  the  laying  on  of  hands,  the  Voice 
of  God  was  heard  from  the  cloud,  '  This  is  My  be- 
loved Son,  in  Whom  I  am  well  pleased.'  "f  Simi- 
larly  St.    Hilary   of    Poitiers,    scjme   twenty   years 


*  Galatians  4  :  6. 

f  Optali,  Opera,  Paris,  1700  A.n.,  p.  75.  St.  Athanasius  writes, 
"  He,  as  man,  was  anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost  that  He  might 
make  us  an  habitation  of  the  Spirit,  as  well  as  partakers  of  His  resur- 
rection and  exaltation."  (Orat.  I  ,  c.  Arianos,  5^  46.  Opera  Patavii, 
1777,  Tom.  I.,  p.  355  D.) 


fH 


i' 


*  1 


148 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


t .  !  i 


r  U 


. '■  :i 


■>« 


."5 


before,  wrote  :  "In  Ilini,  too,  the  order  of  the 
Heavenly  mystery  is  expressed.  For  when  He  had 
been  baptized  the  doors  of  Heaven  were  opened,  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  sent  out,  and  recognized  in  the  shape 
of  a  visible  Dove,  and  He  is  si)rHikled  with  the  unc- 
tion of  His  Father's  affection.  Then  the  Voice  from 
Heaven  says  thus,  '  Thou  art  My  Son,  this  day  have 
I  beg-otten  Thee.'  The  Son  of  God  is  pointed  out 
oy  hearing  and  seeing  ;  and  to  a  peoi)le  unbelieving 
and  disobedient  to  the  prophets  there  is  sent  a  testi- 
mony from  their  Lord  both  of  sight  and  voice.  And 
at  the  same  time  from  these  things  which  were  com- 
pleted in  Christ  we  may  acknowledge  that,  after  the 
washing  of  water  the  Holy  Spirit  flies  down  upon 
us  from  the  gates  of  Heaven,  and  we  are  anointed 
with  the  unction  of  Heavenly  glory  and  are  made 
children  of  God  by  the  adoption  of  the  Father's 
Voice,  since  by  the  very  effects  of  the  things  the 
Truth  has  prefigured  the  likeness  of  the  sacrament 
so  arranged  for  us."*  The  laying  on  of  hands, 
therefore,  was  ever  spoken  of  as  the  "  perfection" 
or  completion  of  Baptism,  and  should  be  regarded 
as  part  and  parcel  of  that  sacrament.  Bishop  Jeremy 
Taylor  in  consequence  calls  it  "  The  sacramental 
consummation  of  our  regeneration  in  Christ."  f 

The  name  by  which  this  complementary  rite  is 
known  in  the  West  rather  implies  that  it  completes 
the  sacrament  of  Baptism.  The  word  "  Confirma- 
tion" has  gradually  superseded  all  others,  and 
though  the  origin  of  the  word  seems  uncertain,  yet 


■liT'i 


*  On  St.  Matthew,  ch.  ii.,  Opera  Verona,  1730,  Tom.  I.,  col.  676. 
f  "  Of  Confirmation,"  i.  2,  ed.  Eden,  vo),  v.,  626. 


H 


i 
1 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


149 


4 


it  probably  has  reference  to  the  connection  with 
Baptism.  Tertullian  uses  the  word  in  tliis  sense, 
though  not  as  a  name  for  this  rite,  which  was  l<nown 
in  his  day  ratlier  as  *'  the  lavinj^  on  of  liands,"  O'- 
unction.  "  How  great  is  the  grace  of  water  (he 
says*),  in  the  sight  of  God  and  His  Christ,  for  tlu' 
conHrmation  of  IJaptism."  The  word  as  a  name  for 
the  rite  is  found  in  the  fiftli  century  at  the  first  Coun- 
cil of  Orange,  "If  one  from  any  accident  has  not 
been  anointed  in  his  Baptism,  the  bishop  must  be 
informed  of  this  at  his  Confirmation,''  though  St.  Am- 
brose seemingly  uses  the  verb  to  confirm  in  a  like  sense. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  in  the  eighth  and  ninth 
centuries  the  word  confirm  is  used  of  the  completion 
of  a  sacrament.  Thus  in  the  Ordo  Romanus  there  is 
continual  reference  to  the  confirmation  of  those  who 
have  received  the  species  of  Bread  with  the  Chalice. 
The  most  striking  passage  is  perhaps  the  following, 
"  Taking  the  chalice,  the  archdeacon  confirms  with 
the  Blood  of  the  Lord  all  those  whom  the  bishop 
shall  have  communicated  with  the  Body  of  the 
Lord."  t  In  a  similar  meaning  Rhabanus  >Lnurus,  a 
century  later,  speaking  of  the  admission  of  a  cate- 
chumen into  the  Church  by  Baptism,  laying  on  ot 
hands,  and  Communion, :{:  says  :  "  Next  every  pre- 
ceding sacrament  is  confirmed  in  him  by  the  Bodv 
and  Blood  of  the  Lord." 

This  is  the  more  striking  since  St.  Isidore  of 
Seville,  in  the  seventh  century,  seems  to  have  re- 
garded Confirmation  as  having  the  same  relation  to 


*  De  Baptismo,  ix.  f  Hitiorpius,  Rom.-e,  1591,  p.  14. 

+  Hittorpiu'*,  Roma*,   iSQt,  p.  274  (Rabanus  de  Inst.  Clericoium 
cap.  29). 


150 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


'  ■■ 


■■:tn   I 


Ba|)tism  as  the  clialicc  had  to  the  paten  ;  there  were 
eitlier  two  or  four  sacraments,  in  his  estimation.  He 
says:*  "The  sacraments  are  Baptism  and  Chrism, 
the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ,  whicli  are  called 
sacraments  because,  under  the  veil  of  corporal  thin<rs, 
the  divine  virtue  secretly  works  the  saviuij^  influence 
of  the  same  sacraments."  He  couples  the  former  two 
to<^ether  and  the  latter  two,  as  if  they  had  a  similar 
relation  one  to  other,  and  neither  of  each  couple 
was  complete  without  its  *'  Confirmation."  f 

In  the  Eastern  Church  the  rite  is  known  as 
"  Chrism,"  or  sometimes  as  "  The  Seal."  It  would 
seem  likely  that  the  word  "  seal"  was  originally  used 
of  the  outward  and  visible  sign  of  an  inward  grace  or 
blessing.  Thus  St.  Paul  uses  the  word  of  the  out- 
ward sign  of  the  inward  faith  of  Abraham,  "  He  re- 
ceived the  sign  of  circumcision,  a  sea/  of  the  right- 
eousness of  the  faith  which  he  had  yet  being  uncir- 
cumcised."  In  the  earliest  Christian  writings — i\^., 
Hennas,  we  find  the  phrase  "  the  seal  is  the  water," 
and  though  sometimes  the  word  is  used  in  such  a 
manner  that  Baptism  is  meant,  it  is  nowhere  said 
"  the  seal  is  Baptism."  Soon  the  word  "  seal  "  be- 
came appropriated  to  the  sign  of  the  cross,  which 
the  faithful  Christian  made  on  everv  occasion,  as  an 
outward  token  of  an  inward  blessing.  As  in  the  rite 
of  Confirmation  or  the  laying  on  of  hands,  the  chrism 
was  applied  in  the  form  of  a  cross  with  the  words, 
"  The  sea/  of  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Thosi      -he  whole 


*  Originum,  Lib.  VI  ,  cap.  19  Opt  onix,  1617,  '     52  A. 

f  Compare  the  saying  of  Tertullian  How  great  is  in  blessedness 
of  that  marriage  which  the  Church  cen.'*nts  ./le  ol>la(ion  confirms'" 
t"  Ad  Uxorem,"  II.  viii.) 


\ 


I 


THE   SACUAMENTS. 


151 


rite  ijradiially  l)ccanic  known  l)y  tlic  name  of  the 
sciil.  It  is  rather  remarkable  that  in  tlie  l'ji,i;Ush  and 
American  Churcli  the  sii^n  of  the  en)ss  should  l)e 
retained  in  Ba])tism  (when  j)rol)abIy  it  is  a  rehc  of 
Conhrmation)  and  be  omitted  in  the  service  for  Con- 
tirtnation  itself.  This  is  a  survivinjj^  symittom  prob- 
ably of  the  time  when  Confirmation  was  administered 
immediately  after  Baptism.  'I'he  slu)rtness  of  the 
service  is  another  siirvivinij^  token  that  it.  is  only  part 
of  a  lon^-er  service,  which  also  may  !)e  seen  fiom  the 
fact  that  until  the  last  review  in  1661  the  I^ord's 
Prayer  was  not  included  in  the  service.  This  could 
not  have  been  left  out  had  it  been  intended  to  be  a 
separate  service  for  a  separate  rite. 

Other  proofs  there  are  that  Confirmation  is  only 
a  part  of  the  complete  sacrament  of  Baptism.  For 
nine  centuries  Baptism  was  not  allowed  (except  in 
dan<4^er  of  death)  to  be  administered  at  other  times 
than  at  Easter  and  Pentecost.*  Then  catechumens 
were  baptized  at  the  cathedral  church  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Bishop,  who  at  once  confirmed  them. 
At  present  the  rubric  of  the  Ruij^lish  Church  directs 
that  no  adult  Baptism  should  take  place  without  the 
Bishop  beinj^  informed.  One  object  is  that  the 
Baptism  do  not  take  place  hurriedly  without  suffi- 
cient [)reparation  ;  but  another  doubtless  is  that  the 
Bishop  may  appoint  a  time  for  the  Baptism,  that  he 
may  be  present  and  confirm  at  once. 

In  the  Eastern  Church  Confirmation  is  ministered 
by  priests  with  chrism  or  unction  specially  conse- 
crated by  Bishops. 


*  See  Appendix  BB*. 


152 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


'-  t 


1    ?v,  I 

t  i  I 


■■Hi 


I  Hi 


rif, 


Neither  Baptism  nor  Confirmation  may  be  re- 
peated. Invalid  baptism,  that  is,  ministered  without 
water  or  without  the  proper  form  of  words,  is  not 
Baptism  ;  and  if  it  be  found  that  one  have  been  so 
baptized^  valid  Baptism  must  be  administered.  Con- 
firmation  cannot  be  ministered  outside  the  Catholic 
Church. 

"  I  acknowledj^c  one  Baptism  for  the  remission  of 
sins,"  this  conveys  the  promise  of  pardon  for  post- 
baptismal  sin  ;  for  as  our  Prayer  Book  says,  it  is  an 
"  everlasting^  benediction  of  Heavenly  washing." 
On  repentance  pardon  is  assured,  and  it  is  ai)plied  to 
the  penitent  by  the  absolution  of  the  priest,  "  wh(^ 
hath  received  power  and  commandment  to  declare 
and  pronounce  to  God's  people,  bein^^  penitent,  the 
absolution  and  remission  of  their  sins."  No  new 
gift  is  conferred  thereby,  but  the  pardon  guaranteed 
is  an  extension  of  the  forgiveness  promised  at  Bap- 
tism, 

It  is  remarkable  to  observe  that  when  in  the 
second  Prayer  Book  of  Edward  \  I.  a  Confession  and 
Absolution  were  introduced  at  the  beginning  of 
Matins  and  Evensong,  they  are  "  constructed  in  that 
form  which  would  most  completely  adapt  them  for 
superseding  in  all  ordinary  cases  })rivate  confession 
and  absolution."  Canon  Cooke  well  says  :  "  An  ex- 
amination of  the  Confession  will  show  that  it  is 
framed  with  the  closest  regard  to  the  old  definitions 
of  mortal  sin,  and  that  it  differs  in  this  resj)ect  from 
the  ancient  Confession  at  Prime  and  Compline, 
which  were  considered  to  refer  to  venial  sins  alone." 
The  Absolution  is  rather  framed  on  the  model  of 
that  in  use  in  the  Greek  Church.     Both  assert  the 


s 


li 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


153 


& 


^ 


I 

i 

i 

i 


absolving  power  to  be  God's,  conveyed  through  the 
priest  ;  both  insist  on  the  necessity  of  true  rei)entancc 
in  the  sinner  ;  both  have  petitions  that  repentance 
may  be  produced  in  the  sinner  and  absolution  granted 
by  God.  With  respect  to  the  form  of  absolution, 
the  nv)st  ancient  forms  of  sacerdotal  absolution  were 
precatory,  prayer  to  God  for  })ardon  to  be  granted 
to  the  penitent.  It  has  been  said  of  the  forms  of 
ordination,  and  the  remark  is  true  of  uU  similar  utter- 
ances of  ministerial  power  :  "  The  Fathers  used  pre- . 
catory  forms,  lest  the  gift  should  appear  to  proceed 
from  any  but  G(xl ;  the  later  practice  of  the  West 
added  imperative  forms,  lest  it  siiould  appear  that 
the  j)rayer  of  a/ij'  person  would  suffice  for  obtaining 
the  gift."* 

There  are,  then,  in  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of 
England  three  forms  of  Absolution  gradually  nar- 
rowing in  personal  application,  and  gradually  becom- 
ing more  imperative  and  authoritative.  Though  one 
has  been  omitted  in  the  American  Chuich,  those  that 
remain  are  ecpially  valid.  As  absolution  is  not  be- 
stowed witliout  confession,  so  before  each  Absolu- 
tion there  is  a  Confession,  in  general  terms  indeed, 
but  in  such  carefully  worded  phrases  that  each  indi- 
vidual may  include  his  own  sin  and  his  own  burtlen. 
In  the  case  of  {)rivate  and  particular  confession  the 
Absolution  becomes  more  direct  and  imperative. 
But.  as  the  homilies  say,  "  though  Absolution  hath 
promise  of  forgiveness  of  sin,  yet  by  the  express 
word  of  the  New  Testament  it  hath  not  this  j)romise 
annexed  and  tied  to  the  visible  sign,  which   is  impo- 


i 


♦  See  Appendix  CC. 


154 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


V  rA 


f.,: 


■  W' 


';■!  ' 


i: 


iTi: 
,•1' 


Mil' 


i       '! 


sition  of  hands."  Nor  has  tlierc  ever  been  any  ex- 
press form  of  words  wherein  the  j^race  is  conveyed 
or  conferred.  But  Absohition  is  only  j^ranted  after 
Confession.  "  I  said  I  will  confess  my  sins  unto  the 
Lord  ;  and  so  Thou  foriij-avest  the  wickedness  of  my 
sin."  Deeply  mysterious  doubtless  all  fori^iveness 
is,  but  there  is  no  grace  more  surely  promised  than 
this  ;  there  is  no  i'-race  more  yearned  after  by  the 
repentant  sinner  ;  there  is  none,  it  may  be,  for  which 
the  penitent  requires  ij^rcater  assurance.  The  pre- 
cious declaration  of  our  Lord  is  remarkable  in  its 
fulness  :  "  That  ye  may  know  that  the  Son  of  ^L\N 
hath  power  on  earth  to  for«;^ive  sins  (then  saith  He  to 
the  sick  of  the  palsy),  Arise,  take  up  thy  bed  and 
go  unto  thine  house."  Here  in  the  Greek  ori<^inaI 
each  ivord  is  the  same  in  each  of  the  three  Synoptic 
Gospels,  and  each  word  is  of  deepest  import,  as  we 
should  expect.  The  Lord  does  not  deny  that  God 
alone  has  absolute  and  paramount  power  and  right 
to  forgive  sins.  In  the  case  in  question  He  does  not 
absolve  as  God,  but  as  Man  ;  therefore  he  uses  a  word 
for  delegated  power,  not  absolute,  inherent  power, 
but  delegated  power,  as  it  were,  license  :  "  The  Son 
of  Man  hath  power  delegated  to  Him  on  earth  to  for- 
give sins."  *  Then  after  His  Resurrection  He  said 
again,  "  All  delegated  power  is  given  unto  Me  in 
Heaven  and  upon  earth,"  and  lest  it  should  be 
thought  that  the  power  was  removed  from  earth  at 
the  Ascension,  He  said  further,  "  Lo  !  I  am  with  you 
all  the  days,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  He  is 
with  His  properly  authenticated  ministers  until  the 

*  See  Appendix  DD. 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


155 


ill 


end  of  time.     As  St.  John  records  the  Lord's  words, 
**  As  Mv  Father  hath  sent  Me,  even  so  am  I  sendin<^ 


you, 


the   xMission  of    Christ    is   here  reirarded    in 


the  permanence  of  its  effects.  The  Apostles  were 
commissioned  to  carry  on  Christ's  work  ;  tlieir  office 
was  to  apply  His  ot^ce  according;  to  the  needs  of  the 
faithful  to  whom  they  ministered.  This  i)ower  of 
Absolution  was  therefore  handed  on  and  dcle^-ated 
to  them  :  "  Then  He  breathed  on  them  and  saith 
unto  them.  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost  :  whosoever 
sins  ye  remit,  they  arc  remitted  unto  them  ;  and 
whosoever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained. ' '  Words 
that  are  even  now  repeated  when  the  commission  is 
handed  on  in  the  ordination  of  a  priest,  for  to  no 
minister  under  the  degree  of  priest  is  the  power  of 
Absolution  delegated. 

In  the  lately  discovered  "  Teaching  of  the  Twelve 
Apostles"  special  prominence  is  given  to  two  sacra- 
ments, and  to  two  only.  To  Baptism,  as  we  have 
seen,  Confirmation  and  Absolution  would  seem  to 
be  attached  ;  Absolution  being,  as  St.  Jerome  said, 
a  plank  from  the  shipwreck  of  entire  forgiveness. 
The  other  *'  Gospel  Sacrament"  is  the  Holy  Kucha- 
rist.  Even  in  this  early  treatise  (dating  about  lai 
A.D.)  the  title  Eucharist  seems  to  iiave  been  given  to 
this  sacrament. 

Under  the  old  Dispensation  there  was  the  feast 
upon  the  sacrifice,  which  applied  the  blessing  of  the 
sacrifice  to  the  offerer.  It  was  a  token  of  union 
with  God  and  of  renewed  favor.  This  was  especially 
the  case  in  the  feast  of  the  Passover.  Each  faithful 
Jew  was  to  eat  of  the  I^aschal  Lamb  under  pain  of 
being  cut  off  from  his  people.     When  the  Baptist 


Iplft 


r  < 


i ! 

^  nil 


/ 1 


)  !,» 


(  i :;"! 


156 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


cried  aloud,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world  !"  it  is  a  very  compre- 
hensive title,  embracing  many  points  of  teaching. 
Probably  the  reference  was  primarily  to  the  fifty- 
third  chapter  of  Isaiah,  "  He  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to 
the  slaughter."  But  it  could  not  end  there.  Morn- 
ing and  evening  was  a  lamb  offered  in  the  Temple  ; 
it  would  be  therefore  the  most  familiar  tyj)eof  sacri- 
fice. But  the  most  important  was  the  Paschal  Lamb, 
to  which  the  Incarnate  Lord  was  afterward  likened 
by  Apostles.  In  his  Gospel  St.  John  *  claims  that 
the  command  with  respect  to  the  Paschal  Lamb,  "  a 
bone  of  it  shall  not  be  broken,"  was  fulfilled  in  the 
omission  to  break  any  bone  of  the  crucified  Saviour. 
St.  Paul  t  says  boldly,  "  Christ  our  Passover  is  sac- 
rificed for  us  ;"  and  St.  Peter,:}:  referring  probably  to 
the  same  image,  says  we  were  redeemed  with  the 
"  precious  Blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  Lamb  without 
blemish  and  without  spot."  How,  it  may  be  asked, 
can  we  partake  of  the  sacrifice  offered  for  us  ?  How 
can  we  partake  of  the  Paschal  Lamb  ?  How  are  we 
to  be  "  partakers  of  Christ?" 

Now  before  giving  the  answer  to  this  we  must  be 
reminded  of  one  universal  peculiarity  of  sacrifice, 
which  was  in  existence  throughout  the  whole  known 
world,  Gentile  as  well  as  Jewish.  This  cannot  be 
given  better  than  in  the  carefully  weighed  words  of 
a  very  talented  and  learned  writer.  Archdeacon 
Freeman  :§ 


*  St.  John  19  :  36,  cf.  Exodus  12  :  46. 

f  I  Corinthians  5:7.  J  i  St.  Peter  i  :  19. 

§  "  Principles  of  Divine  Service,"  Part  II.,  ch.  i.,  ^  4,  p.  75. 


11 


i 


i 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


157 


/ 1 


n 


%\ 


"  It  is  much  to  be  observed,  as  an  unfailini2^  feature 
of  Gentile  sacrifice,  when  properly  performed,  that 
animals  were  never  offered  alone,  but  always  with 
an  accompaniment  of  flour  and  wine.  Nor  only  so. 
The  victim,  though  itself  the  efficacious  element  of 
the  sacrifice,  was  offered  ^j  means  of  tlic  bread  and 
ivinc.  The  bread  was  broken  and  sprinkled  on  the 
head  of  the  animal  while  alive  ;  and  again,  wine, 
with  frankincense,  was  poured  between  its  horns. 
This  done,  the  sacrifice  was  conceived  to  have  been 
duly  offered,  so  far  as  concerned  the  gift  and  dedi- 
cati(^n  of  it  on  man's  part,  and  the  acceptance  of  it 
by  the  Deity.  This  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  ////- 
niolare,  to  sprinkle  with  the  bn^ken  viola,  or  cake,  was 
used,  as  is  well  known,  to  express  the  entire  aetion  of 
sacrifice^  the  slaying  and  burning  included .  So  again, 
mactare,  to  enrich  or  crown  with  the  addition  of 
wine,  was  likewise  used  for  the  whole  action.  This 
is  an  absolute  pn)of  of  the  immense  virtue  and  im- 
plicit power  attributed  to  the  bread  and  wine  in 
these  sacrifices.  They  were  held  to  carry  within 
them,  in  a  manner,  the  whole  action.  The  present- 
ing of  them  was  the  presenting  of  the  slain  sacrifice  ; 
the  acceptance  of  them  was  its  acceptance.  And 
that,  moreover,  they  were  identified  respectively, 
the  broken  bread  with  the  body  to  be  slain,  the 
poured  out  wine  with  the  blood  to  be  shed,  is  botii 
probable  from  the  obvious  parallel  and  is  counte- 
nanced by  other  parts  of  the  system.  Thus  the  poor, 
who  could  not  afford  slain  victims,  were  allowed  to 
do  their  part  by  providing  cakes  of  bread  ;  and  these 
were  sometimes  made  in  the  shape  of  the  ox  to  be 
sacrificed,  and   might  be   offered   alone.     And   the 


H' 


:    v\\ 


'^■. 


*-■  '1 


:^l 


li  ill 


id 


\; 


P 


! 


''ins 


H4  >. 


« 


iliii 


158 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


drinking  of  blood  was,  though  rarely,  substituted 
for  that  of  wine. 

"  Now  all  this  coincides  marvellously  with  the 
Mosaic  provisions,  bv  which  the  animal  sacrifice  was 
held  to  be  completed  when  the  bread  offering  had 
been  laid  and  the  wine  poured  out  on  the  victim  ; 
and  again,  with  the  law  allowing  the  poor  to  bring  a 
bread  offering  instead  of  victims." 

Merc,  then,  we  have  one  imiversal  peculiarity, 
which  some  might  ascribe  to  a  common  origin,  which 
must  be  allowed  by  all  to  evince  a  sense  of  appropri- 
ateness, which  may  not  so  easily  be  apprehended 
now  that  we  are  no  longer  familiar  with  the  ritual 
of  slain  sacrifices.  If  we  say  that  there  was  a  com- 
mon origin,  it  will  be  difificult  not  to  admit  that  such 
origin  was  divine  ;  if  we  think  otherwise,'  then,  at 
least,  we  must  see  that  for  many  thousand  years 
God  had  been  training  the  whole  human  race  for  the 
awful  moment  "  in  the  upper  room  furnished  and 
prepared." 

The  Jews  had  been  prepared  by  the  prophecy  of 
Malachi,  which  Christians  have  from  the  very  first 
acknowledged  as  pro})hetical  oi  the  Holy  Eucharist. 
In  the  early  written  document  just  cited  we  read, 
"  On  the  Lord's  Day  of  the  Lord  come  together  and 
break  Bread,  and  give  thanks,  confessing  your  tres- 
passes, that  your  sacrifice  may  be  pure.  For  this  is 
that  sacrifice  spoken  of  by  the  Lord,  '  In  every  place 
and  time  offer  Me  a  pure  sacrifice,  for  I  am  a  great 
King,  saith  the  Lord,  and  My  Name  is  wonderful 
among  the  Gentiles.'  "  A  few  years  later  St.  Justin 
Martyr  claims  the  same  prophecy  for  a  similar  refer- 
ence, and  a  few  years  later  again  St.  Irenecus  quotes  it 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


J  59 


to  the  same  purpose.  We  must  see  that  the  applica- 
tion of  the  i)rophecy  to  the  Holy  Eucharist  dates  from 
a  time  coeval  with  the  latest  of  the  Apostles  at  least. 

More  than  this,  the  Lord  prepared  His  (liscii)les 
twelve  months  before  in  the  discourse  He  delivered 
at  Capernaum.  In  this  sermon  the  Lord's  teaching 
becomes  more  emphatic  the  more  His  hearers  carped 
at  His  sayini^s.  St.  John,  who  does  not  record  the 
institution  either  of  Baptism  or  the  Eucharist  (be- 
cause the  institution  had  been  sufficiently  recorded 
previously),  records  the  deep  teachinjj^  (^f  our  Lord 
about  both  sacraments. 

At  Capernaum  the  Lord  said,  "  The  Bread  which 
I  will  f^ive  is  My  Flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the 
life  of  the  world."  When  His  hearers  carped  at 
His  saying,  "  Hozu  can  this  man  give  us  His  Flesh  to 
eat?"  He  answered  in  the  em[)hatic  statement,  wit- 
nessed to  by  an  asseveration,  "  Verily,  verily  I  say 
unto  you,  Except  ye  eat  the  Flesh  of  the  Son  of  man 
and  drink  His  Blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you" — 
words  that  could  not  have  been  understood  -  at  the 
time.  But  how  must  the  words  have  rushed  upon 
the  minds  of  the  Apostles  when  they  saw  the  ac- 
tion and  heard  the  words  of  their  Master  at  that 
mysterious  Last  Supper.  "  He  took  bread,  and 
gave  thanks,  and  brake  it,  and  gave  unto  tliem,  say- 
ing, This  is  My  Body  which  is  given  for  you  ;  this 
do  in  remembrance  of  Me.  Likewise  also  the  cup 
after  Supper,  saying.  This  cup  is  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  My   Blood  ;  this  do  ye  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it 

n 


in    remembrance   ol    Me. 


Here,    as   Archdcaco 


*  See  Apppendix  EE. 


i  :i 


I 


If 


ill. 


-A    .n 


Hi 


•;f--U 


If 

<  111    I 


i6o 


THE    SACRAMENTS. 


Freeman  says,*  "the  broken  Bread  and  the  Wine 
poured  out  is,  with  a  tremendous  ])recision  of  lan- 
j^uaj^e  which  leaves  no  escape,  identified  with  the 
Body  yet  to  be  slain,  and  the  Blood  yet  to  be  shed 
in  sacrifice.  .  .  .  Simple  breakinj^  of  bread  with 
sacrificial  intent  and  *(esture  was  a  sufficient  *  immo- 
lation,'  simple  pourino-  out  of  wine  with  that  intent 
was  effective  '  mactation  '  of  the  yet  livini^  Victim." 
Herein  and  hereby  may  Christians  partake  of  the 
one  only  true  and  efficacious  sacrifice  of  the  Cross. 
Herein  we  feed  upon  "  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world,"  in  the  glorious  sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord's  Body  and  Blood. 

Each  word,  each  act,  was  sacrificial  ;  the  Sacra- 
ment of  the  Eucharist,  therefore,  has  ever  been  re- 
garded as  the  Christian  sacrifice  or  offering  from  the 
very  first.  Even  from  the  words  "  Do  this"  it  is  im- 
possible to  exclude  the  meaning  of  sacrifice  or  offer- 
ing. For  the  word  was  ever  used  in  the  Greek 
Septuagint  for  sacrifice,  or  lri/>i/ijf  ihc  Passover,  or 
other  feast, t  and  even  absolutely  without  any  ac- 
cusative in  the  sense  of  offering  to  a  false  God,  and 
so  of  worship.  It  is  the  memorial  of  the  one  Sacri- 
fice on  the  Cross.  By  it  the  virtue  of  that  Sacrifice 
is  extended  to  us.  It  is  a  syml)f)l  which  actually 
conveys  "  verily  and  indeed  "  to  the  faithful  That  of 
Which  it  is  a  symbol. 

As  we  have  seen  animal  sacrifice  and  the  offering 
of  blood  was  universal,  we  have  also  seen  that  the 
essential  accompaniment  of  such  sacrifice  in  Gentile 


*  "  Principles  of  Divine  Service,"  P-irt  II.,  p.  80. 
f  See  Appendix  FF. 


i? 
:i>' 


I 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


l6l 


■mg 


:iii(l  Lcvitical  ceremony  was  an  {)rferlii<j^  of  l)rc'afl  and 
wine.  Wc  have  also  seen  that  animal  sacrifice  in  the 
Greek  and  Roman  civilized  world,  as  well  as  in  the 
Jewish  community,  has  ceased.  In  tiie  Jewish 
Church  it  ceased  at  once  and  forever  at  the  end  of 
the  probationary  fortv  years  after  the  olferin;^  of  the 
"  One  perfect  and  sufficient  sacrifice,  oblation,  and 
satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world"  on  the 
Cross.  lUit  if  sacrifice  from  the  first  has  been  uni- 
versal, it  must  be  one  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  worship.  It  cannot  be  and  it  is  not  absent  from 
Christian  worship.  With  us  the  universal  offerin<^ 
of  Bread  and  Wine  is  now  the  one  Sacrihcc  we  offer 
here  on  the  Holy  Table  (which  thereupon  becomes 
an  Altar),  and  Christ  pleads  His  Sacrifice  and  the 
merits  of  His  Blood  in  the  Holy  of  Holies  in  Heaven. 
Then  our  Brother  (like  the  true  Joseph)  feeds  us 
from  His  Altar  (which  thereupon  becomes  a  Table) 
with  the  Bread  of  Heaven  and  the  Wine  of  Heaven, 
the  Body  and  Blood  of  the  Lord.  The  Christian 
Sacrifice  has  entirely  sui)erseded  the  other  sacrifices 
as  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross  has  caused  the  ante- 
cedent and  typical  sacritices  to  cease.  The  Holv 
Eucharist,  therefore,  is  a  continual  evidence  of  the 
truth  of  the  one  Sacrifice  of  which  it  is  the  me- 
morial, the  full  and  C()mj)lete  efficacy  of  which  has 
caused  all  bleedin<^  sacrifices  to  be  done  away.  To 
us,  then,  as  to  the  Jews  of  old,  when  we  offer  to 
God,  that  whereon  we  offer  is  rij^htly  called  an  Altar  ; 
and  when  we  feed  on  our  offerin<(  it  is  rij^htly  called 
a  Table.* 


*  Compare   Malachi    1:7:  "Ye  offer  polluted   bread  upon  Mine 
altar  :  and  ye  say,  Wherein  have  we  polluted  Thee  ?    In  that  ye  say, 
1 1 


^^  'i 


162 


THE    SACRAMKNTS. 


l\U^ 


There  can  be  no  question  that  from  the  first  times 
Christians  have  beheved  tlie  truth  of  tlie  Great  Mys- 
tery, that  in  the  Holy  luicharist  we  "  spiritually  eat 
the  I'lesh  of  Christ  and  drink  flis  iJlf)od."  J'his  is 
testified  to  in  every  way,  in  many  different  words 
and  phrases,  in  every  part  of  the  world.  In  the 
second  century  we  have  two  very  remarkable  in- 
scriptions testifyinj^  to  the  faith  then  held,  which 
must  suffice  for  our  ])urp()sc  hero.  One  is  in  Gaul, 
the  other  in  Asia  Minor.  In  Gaul  we  read  at  the 
end  of  a  short  j^oem  addressed  to  the  Christian,* 
"  Receive  the  honey  sweet  food  of  the  holy  things 
of  the  Saviour.  Kat,  drink,  having  Jesus  Christ  the 
Son  of  (iod  the  Saviour  in  thy  hands."  About  the 
same  time  or  a  little  earlier,  about  icSo-cp  A.i).,  a 
monumental  inscription  on  the  tomb  of  Bishop 
Abeicius,  discovered  in  Asia  Minor  in  iScSj,  has  a 
testimony  to  the  same  belief.  The  Bishop  Abercius 
wrote  his  epitaph  and  had  it  cut  during  his  lifetime. 
He  describes  his  travels,  and  toward  the  end  he  has  :t 
"  Evcrv where  Faith  led  the  wav,  and  set  before  me 
irtr  food  F"lsH  from  the  fountain,  mighty  and  pure 
(Whom  a  chaste  virgin  grasped),  and  gave  This  to 
friends  to  eat  always,  having  the  best  wine  and  giv- 
ing the  mixed  cup  with  bread."  The  word  Fi's/t 
representing  the  anagram  of  "  Jesus  Christ  the  Son 
of  (jod  the  Saviour." 

In  the  last  quotation  the  two  parts  of  the  sacra- 
ment are  referred  to,  the  bread  and  the  mixed  cup — 


Ihe  Table  of  the  Lord  is  contemplible  "     See  also  verse  12,  Ezekiel 
41  :  22  ;  44  :  [6  :  i  Corinthians  10  :  21  ;  Hebrews  13  ;  10. 

*  See  "  Doctrine  of  Real  Presence,"  by  Dr.  Pusey,  p.  337. 

f  See  Bishop  Lightfsoi's  "  Ignatius,"  vol.  i.,  p.  480. 


THK   SACRAMKNTS. 


163 


sacra- 
cup — 

Ezekiel 


i.e.,  wine  mixed  with  water;  and  the  inward  part, 
lesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God  tiie  Saviour.  IJoth  are 
^ivcn  for  food  to  the  faithful  Christian,  and  as  our 
Article  saith,  to  deny  either  part  "  overthroweth  the 
nature  of  a  sacrament."  l<emarkai)ly  enoufj^ii,  the 
teaciiini;  which  is  called  "  Transuhstantiation"— that 
is,  that  the  whole  substance  of  bread  and  wine  after 
consecration  is  chanjj^ed  into  the  whole  substance  of 
the  IJody  and  Hlood  of  Christ,  was  i)y  antici|)ation 
condemned  in  the  controversies  of  the  fifth  century. 
Theodoret  in  his  second  dialo«^ue  introduces  a  her- 
etic, whom  he  calls  Eranistcs  or  Guildsman,  dis- 
putin<^  witii  Orthodoxus,  the  holder  of  the  truth,  and 
the  dispute  in  the  part  referred  to  is  as  follows  : 

"  Guildsman.  What  do  you  call  the  gift  that  is  offered  before  the 
invocation  of  the  priest  ? 

"  Orthodox.  No  plain  answer  should  be  given  to  this,  since  there 
may  be  some  present  who  are  not  Christians. 

"  G.  Well,  let  thf  answer  be  enigmatical. 

"  0.   It  is  food  nidde  of  such  seeds. 

"  G.  And  how  call  you  the  other  symbol  ? 

"  O.  This,  too,  has  a  common  name  signifying  a  common  drink. 

"  G.   But  after  consecration  how  do  you  call  them  ? 

"  O.  The  Body  of  Christ  and  the  Blood  of  Christ. 

"  G.  Do  you  believe  that  you  partake  of  the  Body  of  Christ  and 
His  Blood  ? 

"  O.  That  is  my  belief. 

"  G.  Well,  then,  just  as  the  symbols  of  the  Lord's  Body  and  Blood 
are  one  thing  before  the  invocation  of  the  priest,  but  are  changed 
after  the  invocation  and  become  something  else,  so  the  Lord's  Body 
after  His  Ascension  was  changed  into  the  substance  that  is  Divine. 

"  O.  You  are  caught  in  your  own  net.  For  the  mystic  symbols 
do  not  abandon  their  own  proper  nature,  even  after  consecration. 
For  they  remain  in  the  same  substance,  shape,  and  form,  ami  are 
visible  and  tangible,  as  they  were  before.  But  they  arc  understood 
to  be  those  things  which  they  have  become,  and  they  are  believed  to 
be  such,  and  ate  reverenced  as  actually  being  What  they  are  believed 


ff  f 


)  t 


li.j. 


m 

I"  ! 


I, 


r- 


I  i 


I 


1 

/iii 

1 
1 

'Si 

^'  m 

'*' 

'!  '^  ■ : '!! 

■■ 

■!j| 

\ 

I'l 

; 

1 

1 

m 

164 


TirE   SACRAMKNTS. 


to  be.  Compare,  ihen,  the  image  with  the  archetype,  and  you  will 
see  the  likeness.  For  the  type  should  be  like  ihe  verity.  For  the 
body  hath  its  former  appearance  and  circumference,  and,  In  a  word, 
the  substance  of  the  body.  Rut  after  the  Resurrection  it  became  Im- 
mortal and  incorruptible,  and  has  been  found  worthy  of  the  seat  at 
the  Right  Hand,  and  is  adored  by  all  creation  because  it  is  called  the 
Body  of  the  Lord  of  cteation. 

"  G.  And  yet  the  mystical  symbol  changes  its  former  designation  ; 
for  It  is  no  longer  called  by  its  former  name,  but  is  spoken  of  as 
'  Body  '  ;  so  then  the  Truth  must  be  called  God  and  not '  Body.' 

"  O.  You  seem  to  me  to  be  ignorant.  For  It  is  not  only  called 
Body,  but  also  Bread  of  Life.  For  so  the  Lord  Himself  designated 
Ii.  And  we  call  the  Body  Divine  and  life  giving,  and  the  Master's 
and  the  Lord's  ;  teaching  that  It  is  not  a  common  Body  of  any  man, 
but  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Who  is  God  and  man.  For  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  same  yesterday,  and  to  day,  and  forever."  * 

The  same  passaj.^e  also  condemns  the  opinion  of 
tliosc  who  regard  the  Bread  and  Wine  as  mere 
tokens  of  something  Which  is  absent.  For  the 
same  are  called  Bread  and  Wine,  and  at  tiie  same 
time  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ. 

One  other  passage  will  here  be  given,  from  the 
book  "  De  Sacramentis,"  which  has  been  ascribed 
to  St.  Ambrose.  It  is  remarkable  for  its  clear  state- 
ment and  also  for  the  very  clever  but  most  unscrupu- 
lous manner  in  which  it  has  been  altered  to  suit 
modern  Roman  doctrine.  The  passage  runs  thus  : 
"  You  see,  then,  how  powerful  in  working  is  the 
Word  of  Christ.  If,  then,  there  is  suca  force  in  the 
Word  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  (m  creation)  that 
those  things  which  had  no  existence  began  to  exist, 
how  much  more  powerful  is  it  in  commanding  that 
they  should  remain  what  they  were  and  yet  be 
changed  to  something  else  ?"     67  si/it  qmc  erant,  et 


*  Theodoreti,  Opera,  Paris,  1642,  Tom.  IV.,  p,  85. 


THE   SACRAMKNTS. 


165 


///  aliud  commutcHtur.  So  was  it  in  a  iiiaiuiscrii)t 
Komaii  Breviary  of  1473  in  the  Bodleian  Library  at 
Oxford,  for  the  fourth  lesson  rif  the  Saturday  in  the 
Octave  of  Corpus  Christi.  So  was  it  in  the  printed 
Roman  Breviary  of  1522,  for  the  hrst  lesson  for  the 
Sunday  within  the  Octave  of  Corpus  Christi.  But 
a  change  has  now  passed  over  the  passage  in  the 
Konian  Breviary. 

With  wonderful  inj^cnuity  six  letters  have  bcejj 
omitted,  with  the  result  that  the  passaj^e  is  made  to 
say  precisely  what  it  did  not  say  orifrinally,  as  seen 
in  the  excellent  Benedictine  edition  *  and  in  the 
earlier  editions  of  the  Breviary.  The  words  sint  and 
it  are  omitted.  The  result  is  the  passajj^e  reads, 
"  How  much  more  powerful  the  word  which  com- 
mands that  thin^^s  which  had  an  existence  should  be 
chanj^ed  into  somethings  else,"  Ut  qu(C  crant  in 
aliud  commutentur.  The  original  passage  teaches  the 
doctrine  held  by  all  early  writers  and  by  the  Kng- 
lish  Church  ;  the  altered  phrase  agrees  better  with 
the  modern  views  of  Rome.  The  alteration  is  very 
instructive. 

"  The  benefits  whereof  we  are  partakers  in  the 
Holy  Eucharist  are  the  strengthening  and  refresh- 
ing our  souls  by  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ,  as 
our  bodies  are  nourished  by  the  Bread  and  VV^ine." 
As  our  natural  bodies  arc  sustained  by  j)artaking  ot 
natural  food,  so  are  our  souls  and  spirits  sustained 
by  spiritual  food.  It  is  not  enough  for  us  that  we 
have  received  life  natural,  we  must  maintain  it  by 
the  means  provided  by  our  merciful  Creator.     It  is 


*  Ambrosii,  Opera,  Paris,  1690,  Tom.  II.,  col.  369  A. 


» I' 


n 


I ;  .^i  i 


166 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


not  cnougii  for  us  to  have  received  spiritual  life,  we 
must  ])ray,  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  Bread  ;"  we 
nnist  feed  our  souls  on  the  Bread  of  Life.  The  im- 
portance and  necessity  of  this  dependence  on  our 
Incarnate  Lord  is  broujj^ht  home  to  us  by  the  imaj^e 
of  eatinjj^  and  drinkinjj^.  When  we  think  of  it,  the 
daily  assimilation  of  food  is  so  mysterious,  that  were 
it  not  so  very  common,  we  should  call  it  a  miracle. 
We  take  dead  matter  into  us,  and  at  some  rotitnent 
there  is  a  separation,  and  some  part  of  the  <lcad 
matter  is  chosen  for  life,  and  is  absorbed  into  tiie 
living  bodv,  and  becomes  living  tissue.  This  must 
depend  upon  the  blessing  of  the  Creator,  Who  has 
also  said,  '*  Except  ye  eat  the  Flesh  of  the  S(m  of  man 
and  drink  His  Blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you.  For 
My  F^lesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  My  Blood  is  drink 
indeed." 

But  when  the  body  of  a  man  is  not  liealthy  the 
food  he  may  take  does  him  no  good  :  either  he  has 
no  aj>potite  and  cannot  eat  or  he  may  have  a  large 
appetite  but  no  power  to  assimilate  food,  and  it  is 
possible  that  a  man  may  eat  much  and  die  of  inan- 
ition. The  food  he  takes  may  be  the  same  in  every 
particular  ;  .,  is  taken  by  another  who  is  well  nour- 
ished bv  it,  but  having  no  power  to  draw  sustenance 
from  the  food,  he  gains  no  benefit  therefrom.  So 
with  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  The  same  is  offered 
to  all,  but  all  do  not  alike  benefit.  Som^*,  alas  !  have 
not  the  subjective  power  of  assimilaticm,  arising  fi'om 
some  sickness  of  soul,  some  lack  of  faith,  or  some 
presence  of  unrepented  and  wilful  sin.  Others  eat 
and  drink  to  their  soul's  health  and  go  on  from 
strength  to  strength. 


.  t  it 


THE    SACKAMKNTS. 


167 


From  some  fccliiijj^,  wliethcr  from  dread  of  irrever- 
ence or  otlierwise,  a  practice  arose  of  witlidrawiii^j^ 
the  Clip  from  tlie  laity.  Hut  as  Gelasiiis  in  the  hfth 
centurv  said,  "  We  have  learned  that  certain  persons 
after  havinj^  received  the  portion  of  the  Sacred  iJody 
abstain  from  the  chalice  of  the  Sacred  Blood.  Which 
persons  without  doubt  should  either  partake  <»f  the 
sacraments  in  their  entirety  or  be  excluded  from  the 
entire  sacrament,  because  the  division  of  one  antl 
the  same;  mvsterv  cannot  take  ])lace  without  <rreat 


sacnU^iTC, 


"  What  God  hath  joined  tojj^ether  in  this 
sacrament  we  have  no  ritj^ht  to  put  asunder.  Rather 
mav  we  think  with  some  that  if  man  had  never  fallen 
there  would  have  been  no  need  (to  si)eak  with  deep- 
est  humility)  of  our  i)artakini(  of  the  Saviour's  Blood  ; 
but  the  cup  is  specially  connected  with  "  tlie  remis- 


sion  o 


I   sinj 


as  St.  Matthew  records.  It  would 
seem,  therefore,  bitter  cruelty  to  the  conununicant, 
as  well  as  sacrilejj^c  in  the  sijj^ht  of  God,  to  maini  the 
sacrament  and  deprive  the  layman  of  the  chalice. 
U  was  not  done  without  deep  and  well-deserved  tlis- 
satisfaction,  and  in  Hni^land  and  in  many  parts  of  the 


ontinen 


t  of  1^ 


urope  an  unconsecr 


:ite(  1 


cup  was  nnn- 


istered  to  the   people   to  content   them,   if   possible, 
under  the  plea  of  a  desire  to  assist  dej.jlutition. 

The  consideration  of  this  jj^reat  sacrament  would 
lead  us  to  cor^sider  the  j^race  of  llolv  ( )r(lers  con- 
veved  by  the  layinjj^onof  hands,  settinj^  ajjart  a  con- 
secrated ministry  to  represent  the  Hii^h  Priest  on 
eaith,  and  to  consecrate  the    Holy  luicharist  in  His 

*  Pieserved  in  Gralian  Decrrtum,  Pars.  III.  ;  De  Consecrat.  Dis. 
H.,  cap.  12,  Lu.{liini,  1606.  col.  i(ji8.  It  is  doubtless  genuine. 
See  Herardi,  Tom.  II.,  p.  y)2,  .Madrid,  1783. 


Hf 


(' 


i68 


THK   SACKAMKNTS. 


i:i 


Name.  lie  is  Captain  or  Chief  Guide,*  Ilis  minis- 
ters under  Ilim  are  ^.''uides  or  rulers. f  He  is  Chief 
Shepherd  ; :}:  thev  are  shepherds  under  Ilim.  He  is 
the  Hifj^h  Priest, J^  tliey  arc  priests  under  Ilim.  lie 
is  Bishop,  so  are  some  of  them  as  His  ambassadors. ; 
Ordiniition,  then,  is  not  only  an  outward  call  or 
recojjfnition  of  one  set  apart  or  admitted  to  minis 
terial  position  ;  it  is  a  means  of  conve)  in;^  j^^race,  and 
is  of  a  sacramental  character.  Mere  as  elsewhere  in 
the  dealinj^  of  God  with  man  the  inward  i^race,  is 
conveyed  by  outward  lueans.  None  can  claim  the 
ri^ht  of  ministeriufj^  with  the  authority  of  (iod's 
minister  without  some  credentials.  In  the  case  of  a 
new  order  of  ministers,  such  as  Moses  and  Aaron, 
or  the  Apostles  of  Christ,  their  credentials  were 
miraculous  ^ifts,  to  which  they  could  aj)peal  as  evi- 
dence of  their  dele<;^ation.  But  it  has  been  the  or- 
(litKiry  workinj^  of  God's  Providence  that,  aft.  '•  s- me 
such  intervention,  as  by  a  new  creation,  the  ijjrace  or 
j)owcr  be  transmitted  in  some  appointed  manner. 
In  the  case  of  the  Levitical  priesthood  it  was  trans- 
mitted from  father  to  son  by  natural  jj^eneration.  In 
the  Christian  priesthood  it  is  transmitted  from  Bishop 
to  Bishop  by  spiritual  succession,  the  <;race  bein*.;^ 
conveyed  by  layinii^  on  of  hands.  It  is  therefore  dis- 
tinctly sacramental. 

Nor  may  we  deny  this  in  a  certain  sense  to  Holy 
Matrimony.  Archbishop  Cramner  said  that  there  is 
only  one  sacrament  directly  reco<^nized  in  the  Bible, 
and    that    is    Matrimony.      St.    Paul   is   speakin<j^  of 

*  Hebrews  2  ■  lo,  tic.  \  Hebrews  13  :  7,  20,  etc. 

X  I  St.  PfUT  5:4.  >^  Hebrews  8:1, 

li  I  St.  Peter  2  :  25  ;  2  Corinthians  s  :  20.  ilc. 


I 


• 


TIIK    SACRAMENTS. 


169 


Holy  Matrimony  as  the  type  to  us  of  the  union 
which  exists  between  Christ  and  1 1  is  Cluirch  and 
calls  it  "a  j^^reat  mystery,"  viac^nitm  sinramcntum. 
It  certainly  is  of  Divine  institution,  but  antecedent 
to  Christianity  datiui^  from  the  creation.  It  is  of  so 
deeply  sacred  a  character  that  (lod  (as  God  alone 
can  be)  is  the  avenger  of  all  offence  aij^ainst  this 
deeply  sacred  estate.  Open  recoj^nition  and  tolera- 
tion of  sins  au^ainst  inarriaj^e  are  tokens  of  a  low 
standaid  of  Christian  life.  Where  Matrimony  is 
Holy  there  is  doubtless  a  lar<;e  supply  of  i^racc 
j^ranted.  Indeed,*  *'  how  can  we  tlnd  words  fully 
to  describe  the  blessedness  of  that  marriage  which 
the  Church  cements,  the  oblation  conhrms,  the  bless- 
\\v^  seals,  an<jjels  report,  Ciod  the  Father  ratihes  !" 

One  more  is  "  commonly  called  "  a  sacrament, 
and  is  called  I"!xtreme  Unction.  The  tradition  for 
this  is  very  sliiii-ht.  Doubtless  all  sacerdotal  bene 
diction  is  sacramental  in  character,  and  our  Church 
has  rather  introduced  the  solenui  visitation  of  the 
sick  in  lieu  of  this,  which  was  reii^arded  as  an  inexact 
(jr  even  corruj)t  followin<j^  of  the  .\|)ostles. 

In  conclusion,  we  must  remember  that  all  sacra- 
ments and  sacramentals  are,  as  it  were,  "  extensions 
of  the  Incariiation"  to  us  while  we  are  in  this  ])res- 
ent  world,  with  our  spiritual  perceptions  less  keen 
than  they  will  be  hereafter.  They  are  visible  means 
of  impartiuii^  to  the  faithful  individualU  ihe  j)'irticl- 
|)ation  of  the  benehts  procured  for  all  in  f^enei'al  by 
the  IncarnatiDu.     The  words  of  Hooker, f  .ij^ivinf^  the 


*  Tertullian,  "  Ad  Uxorcm."  II.  viii. 

t  Hooker,  "  EciUsiasiical  Polity,"  Hook  V.,  ch.  Ixvii.,  J^  7. 


I/O 


THE  SACRAMKNTS. 


[SH^.^il 


«>i^'i  I' 


ill 


im 


points  in  which  all  aj^ree  about  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, are  so  valuable  that  they  are  here  cited. 
"It  is  on  all  sides  plainly  confessed,  first  that  this 
sacrament  [of  the  Holy  Eucharist]  is  a  true  and  real 
participation  of  Christ,  Who  thereby  imparteth  Him- 
self, even  His  whole  entire  Person,  as  a  mystical 
Head  unto  every  soul  that  rcceiveth  Him,  and  that 
every  such  receiver  doth  thereby  incorporate  or 
unite  himself  unto  Christ  as  a  mystical  member  of 
Him,  yea  of  them  also  whom  He  acknowledi^eth  to 
be  His  own  ;  secondly,  that  to  whom  the  person  of 
Christ  is  thus  communicated,  to  them  He  giveth  by 
the  same  sacrament  His  Holy  Spirit  to  sanctify 
them,  as  it  sanctifteth  Him  which  is  their  head  ; 
thirdly,  that  what  merit,  force,  or  virtue  soever 
there  is  in  His  sacrificed  Body  and  Blood,  we  freely, 
fully,  and  wholly  have  it  in  this  sacrament  ;  fi)urthly, 
that  the  effect  thereof  in  us  is  a  real  transmutation 
of  our  souls  and  bodies  from  sin  to  rii^hteousness, 
from  death  and  corruption  to  immortality  and  life  ; 
fifthlv,  that  because  the  sacrament  beinir  of  itself  but 
a  corruptible  and  earthly  creature  must  needs  be 
thouj^ht  an  unlikelv  instrument  to  work  so  admirable 
effects  in  man,  we  are  therefore  to  rest  ourselves 
altogether  upon  the  strens^th  of  His  j^lorious  power. 
Who  is  able  and  will  brinij  to  pass  that  the  bread 
and  the  cuj)  which  He  j^iveth  us  shall  be  truly  the 
thinji^  He  promiseth." 

The  Incarnation  Itself  alone  broui^ht  infinite  bless- 
ing to  the  creation  at  lar^e  and  to  mankind  in  par- 
ticular. As  a  result  of  the  Incarnation  disease  has 
greatly  lost  its  power  and  malignity  ;  for  in  conse- 
quence of  the  "  love  of  God  toward  man"  therein 


•1 


j^r.^: 


i':43 


THE   SACRAMENTS. 


I7» 


manifested,  hospitals  have  been  founded  wliich  liave 
enabled  ph3'sicians  to  study  disease.  The  power  of 
the  evil  one  has  been  marvellously  checked  ;  demoni- 
acal possession  has  been  minimized  if  not  altos^ether 
quelled  ;  the  oracles  are  dumb. 

Surely,  then,  we  need  not  wonder  that  we  are 
called  upon  to  believe  that  the  sacraments  extend  to 
our  whole  nature,  bodies  as  well  as  souls  and  spirits, 
some  of  the  marvellous  benefits  thus*(ained.  "  Who- 
so eateth  My  Flesh  and  drinketh  My  Hlood  IIAIH 
eternal  life,  and  I  will  raise  hi  in  up  at  tin  last  </av." 
They  are  the  words  of  Truth  Himself.  Therefore, 
saith  tlic  one  who  distributes,  "  The  Body,  the 
Blood,  preserve  thy  dotlj'  and  soul  unto  everlastinjj^ 
life."  Therefore  may  we  say,  "  My  flesh,  my  livinj^ 
flesh,  also  shall  dwell  confidently  in  iiope. " 

**  ()  my  God,  Thou  art  true  ;  ()  my  soul,  thou  art 
happy." 


I  i 


it  I'. 


m 


'1    -    I 


" 


LECTURE  VII. 


THE  GIFT  OF  THE  HOIY  GHOST. 


m 

1, 

-i 

i 

,   i 

■   -0 

1,;' 

'  rt> ! 

■     m 

1 . 

'■!U 

i 

\x 

i.f 

•  'ri 

t' 

:  % 

i 

1= 

_  t  -    -Oil      I 

Mr 


"  Hut  this  spake  He  of  the  Spirit,  which  they  that  believe  on  Him 
should  receive  ;  (or  the  Holy  Ghost  was  not  yet  given  ;  because  that 
Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified."— St.  John  7  :  39. 

No  work  or  revelation  of  God  is  without  prepara- 
tion.- It  may  at  the  time  seem  to  be  sudden  to  the 
man  who  has  not  prepared  himself  or  allowed  him- 
self to  he  prepared  for  it  ;  but  on  lookinj^  back  we 
can  see  how  g^radual  has  been  the  preparation.  This 
will  be  found  to  be  true  ot  each  one  of  us.  When 
we  look  back  on  our  past  lives  we  must  (if  we  are 
really  strivinj^  to  love  and  fear  God)  see  how  He 
has  been  all  alon^^  deaiinjr  with  us.  What  is  true  of 
each  one  is  true  of  the  universe,  so  far  as  we  know 
it ;  it  is  true  of  God's  dealings  with  man. 

Readin«^  in  the  Old  Testament  the  record  of  God's 
dealinj^s  with  I  lis  chosen  people  Israel,  we  see  how 
in  si)ite  of  the  stiff-hearted  opposition  and  rebellion 
of  the  ])eople  they  were  j^radually  lifted  to  a  know- 
ledj^e  of  one  part  of  tlie  Truth,  the  Unity  of  God. 
"  A  truth  revealed  by  God  is  never  a  truth  out  of 
relation  with  previous  thouj^ht.  lie  leads  men  to 
feel  their  moral  and  intellectual  needs  before  He 
satisfies  either.  There  was  a  preparation  for  He- 
brew monotheism,  as  there  was  a  preparation  for  the 
doctrine  of  Christ.     There  was  an  intellectual  prep- 


THE   GUT   OF  TIIK    HOLY   GHOST. 


173 


aration  for  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  as  tlierc  was 
a  moral  i)reparation  for  tlie  doctrine  of  the  Incarna- 
tion.    ^ 

This  is  seen  in  the  merciful  manner  in  which  we 
read  Ahniirhty  God  approached  Ilissinninj^  aiul  sin- 
ful creatures.  It  is  generally  by  a  question,  in  order 
to  awaken  a  response  in  the  man  himself  before  any 
reproof  or  blame  is  spoken.  To  Adam  after  his  sin 
there  came  the  (]uestions,  *'  Adam,  where  art  thou  ? 
Who  told  thee  that  thou  wast  naked?  I  last  thou 
eaten  of  the  tree  whereof  1  commanded  thee  that 
thou  shouldest  not  eat?"  To  the  wayward  and  in- 
diij^nant  prophet  there  came  the  question,  "  Doest 
thou  well  to  be  ani»-ry  ?"  To  the  disheartened  and 
despondent  prophet  the  still,  small  voice  said, 
"What  doest  thou  here,  Elijah?"  And  so  is  it 
ever.  There  is  ever  a  preparation,  and  no  work  or 
revelation  of  God  is  sudden.  Samuel  the  holy  bov 
had  to  be  prepared  by  Kli  for  the  revelation  that 
was  to  be  made  to  him. 

Even  after  Pentecost  continual  preparation  was 
required  to  reconcile  the  Aj)ostles  and  first  converts 
to  the  widenini^  sphere  of  their  labors.  It  is  re- 
markable to  observe  how  reluctant  St.  IV'ter  was  to 
receive  the  conceptionof  the  admission  of  the  Gentiles 
to  the  full  privilej^es  of  the  Gijspel  covenant.  Even 
then,  when  he  had  been  convinced  by  a  miraculous 
vision,  and  by  the  outpouriiii^  of  the  II(^ly  vSpirit  on 
the  Gentile  centurion  and  his  friends,  and  the  Church 
at  Jerusalem  had  decided  the  matter,  even  then  St. 
Peter  failed  at  Antioch  to  maintain  the  truth. 


Aubrey  Moore,  in  "  Lux  Mundi,"  p.  90. 


\p 


1! 

!         i         ,               ; 

:     1    -i    |,      '■ 

1     '■    ^' 

j     S    ■\, 

1  :•'  '  ■■ 

f , , '  t  , 

l'  / 


'74 


THE   GUT   OK   TIIK    llOLV    GHOST. 


The  j^rcat  truths  about  the  Incarnation  only  be- 
came fully  known  after  much  controversy,  but  out 
of  all  o|>|)osinjj^  error  the  Truth  issued.  Must  we 
not  expect  the  same  for  all  truth  ? 

If  this  be  the  case,  we  must  not  be  surprised  that 
the  doctrine  about  the  Holy  Spirit  is  evxMi  yet  lack- 
xn^  in  its  full  revelation.  We  profess  indeed  that 
we  "believe  in  the  1  j'oly  (ihost."  and  this  is  a  special 
characteristic  of  our  Christian  Creeil  ;  but  what  was 
felt  by  St.  Auj^^ustine  hfteen  centuries  aj^o  is  still  a 
truth  now,  that  '*  the  teachini^  about  the  Holy  Sj)irit 
had  not  been  as  yet  so  fully  and  carefully  discussed 
that  we  can  easily  understand  I  lis  distinj;^uishin«( 
pro|)ertv."  *  At  the  present  moment  the  one  j^reat 
desideratum  in  theolo<j^y  is  a  full  treatise  on  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  certainly  one  evi- 
dence of  this  that  it  has  l)een  possible  to  issue  twelve 

Lectures  on  the  Nicene  Creed,"  without  a  word 
about  the  I  loly  Ghost  except  as  an  obiter  dictum.^  It 
may  be,  as  St.  liasil  seems  to  intimate,  that  the  full 
revelation  of  tlie  Holy  Spirit  is  reserved  for  the 
future  beatitude  of  the  Saints.  "  Who  is  so  i«j^no- 
rant  (the  Saint  writes)  of  the  i^ood  thing^s  prejKircd 
by  God  for  those  who  are  worthy  of  them,  as  not  to 
know  that  the  crown  of  the  ri»;hteous  is  the  ^race  of 
the  Spirit,  which  is  then  given  more  abundantly  and 
in  greater  perfection  when  spiritual  glory  is  distrib- 
uted to  every  one  in  proportion  to  his  good 
deeds  ?"  :{:     At  present  it  is  certain  that  from  one 

*  De  fide  et  symbolo,  $^  19. 

+  "  Christianity  in  Relation  to  Science  and  Morals."     Lectures  on 
the  Nicene  Creed  by  Malcolm  MacCoIl. 
X  St.  Basil,  "  De  Sancto  Spiritu,"  $40,  Tom.  III.,  34  B. 


TIIK   (illT   OF   TlIK    IIOI.V    (IIIOST.  1/5 

cause  or  another  tliere  is  not  perfect  ajjjrecinent  in 
the  Church  about  this  i^reat  doctrine.  It  niav  l)e 
that,  as  attacks  of  heretics  and  others  caused  the 
doctrine  of  tiie  Incarnation  to  i)e  settled  at  hir<^e,  so 
now  the  assaults  of  intellectual  scej>tics  inav  cause 
the  Church  to  formulate,  after  reverent  discussion, 
the  doctiine  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  a  manner  accept- 
able to  the  whole  Church. 

Hitherto  the  revelation  has  been  made  very  f;rad- 
:dlv.     In  the  Old    Testament  the   Ilolv   S|)irit  ap- 


u 


)ears  r 


itiier 


as  an  intUience  or  an   enerirv 


It 


was 


impossible  'to  speak  humanly)  that  lie  should  be 
represented  as  a  Person  in  a  dispensation  which  had 
to  emi)hasize  the  Unity  of  (iod.  In  Christian  times 
heretics,  who  failed  to  ^j^rasj)  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  still  regarded  Him  as  an  inlluence  or  oper- 
ation. 'The  Spirit  brooded  over  the  waters  at  the 
creation,  the  Spirit  was  breathed  into  Adam  when 
he  became  a  living  soul,  ordc-r  and  advance  toward 
perfection  was  bv  the  Sj)irit  ;  He  tauLjht  David  to 
draw  the  plan  of  the  Temple  ;  "He  sj)ake  i)y  the 
prophets."  Later  on,  in  the  books  o,  the  silence, 
we  read,  *'  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  hlleth  the  world," 


md  aiiain, 


IS  m  a 


11  tl 


im<rs. 


In  the  New  Testament  the  revelr.tion  is  still  jj^rad- 
ual.  But  in  our  IMessed  Lord  s(iiscourses  there  are 
words  which,  as  interpreted  by  the  insj)ired  Aj)ostle, 
throw  <;reat  lifj^ht  on  manv  passai^es  of  Sciii)ture.+ 
"  He  that  bclieveth  on  Me  ds  the  Scriptini'  hath  said, 
out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  livin.:^  water." 
I5ut  this  (explains  the  Apijstle)  He  spake  of  the  Spirit 


I         1 


♦  Wisdom  I  :  7  ;  12  :  I. 


f  St.  John  7  :  38. 


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which  they  that  believe  ow  Iliin  should  receive. 
This  helps  us  to  understand  many  sayinjj^s  of  the 
prophets — "  With  joy  shall  ye  draw  water  out  of 
the  wells  of  salvation."  "  In  the  wilderness  shall 
waters  break  out  and  streams  in  the  desert,"  "  I 
will  pour  water  on  him  that  is  thirsty,  and  Hoods  on 
the  dry  j^round  ;  1  will  pour  My  Spirit  on  thy  seed, 
and  My  blessing  upon  thine  offs|)rin<^."  This,  too, 
will  help  us  to  understand  the  vision  of  the  Holy 
Waters,  the  River  of  Life,  of  I*!zekiel,  explainetl,  as  it 
would  seem  to  be,  by  St.  John  in  the  Apocalypse  : 
"lie  showed  me  a  pure  river  of  water  of  life,  clear 
as  crystal,  proceedinj^^  out  of  the  Throne  of  God  and 
of  the  Lamb."  So  ajj^ain,  in  the  prophet  Zechariah  : 
"  It  shall  be  in  that  day  that  livinjj^  waters  shall  ^o 
out  from  Jerusalem."  *  It  also  enables  us  to  under- 
stand that  when  the  Lord  spoke  to  the  Samaritan 
woman  Me  spoke  of  the  Holy  Spirit. t-  "  Whoso- 
ever drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall  j^ive  him  shall 
never  thirst  ;  but  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him 
shall  be  in  him  a  well  of  water  springini^  up  into 
everlasting^  life."  Then  it  was  that  the  Lord  used 
the  w^ord  "j^ift,"  which  became  attached  to  the 
ij^reatest  i)rivilcge  of  Christians,  the  "  j^ift  oi  the 
Holy  Ghost."  He  said,  *'  If  thou  knewest  the ,4'//'/ 
0/  God,  and  Who  it  is  that  saith  to  thee.  Give  Me 
to  drink,  thou  wouldest  have  asked  of  Him,  and  He 
would  have  given  thee  living  water." 

Thenceforward  the  Holy  Spirit  was  spoken  of  as 
the  gift  of  God.     Thus  St.  Peter  on  the  day  of  Fente- 


*  Isaiah   12:3;    35  :  6  ;    44  :  3  ;    Ezekiel  47  :  r  sq. 
22  :  I  ;  Zechariah  14  :  8. 
f  St.  John  4  :  10,  14. 


Revelation 


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TIIK   GUT   OF   TlIK   IIOI.Y   (".HOST. 


177 


cost  promised  that,  on  Repentance  and  after  Baptism 
tliis  "  «ijift"  should  be  received,  and  tlirouj^houl  the 
IJook  of  the  Acts  the  word  transhited  ^j^ift  in  St. 
I'eter's  speech  is  always  of  the  "j^ift"  of  the  Holy 
Gh(>st.  It  is  iisetl  by  St.  Peter  when  rebnkin*; 
Simon  .Ma;;us,  "  IJecawse  thou  thou:^htest  that  the 
^'■//7  of  God  could  be  purchased  by  money.  "  riiis 
is  it  which  causes  St.  Paul  to  burst  out,  "  Thanks  be 
to  (jod  for  Mis  unspeakable  ^i/-///."  St.  .\thanasius, 
too,  says,  '*  The  Holy  Spirit  is  emphaticallv  the  jj^ift 
ot  God."  *  St.  Hilary  of  Poitiers  also  says,  "  He 
commanded  to  baptize  in  the  Name  of  the  Pat  her. 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost— that  is,  in 
the  conlession  of  the  Author,  of  the  Only  Begotten, 
and  of  the  (iift.  F"or  there  is  one  (iod  the  P'ather, 
of  whom  are  all  thiiiij^s  ;  and  one  Only  IJei^otten,  oui 
Lord  jesus  Christ,  thrt)UL;h  whom  are  all  thin<;s  ;  antl 
one  Spirit,  the  Gift  in  all."  \  Simdai  ly  .St.  .\u<;us- 
tine,  commenting;  on  our  Lord's  words  to  the  woman 
of  Samaria,  says,  "The  jj^ift  of  God  is  the  Holy 
Spirit."  Indeed  he  rej^ards  it  as  the  personal  char- 
acteristic of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  and  to  be  called 
"the  i^iftof  God.":}: 

The  Lord  |esus  also  called  Him  "  the  P'inLfer  of 
God,"  and  in  relation  to  His  Church,  "  the  Promise 
of  the  Father." 

He  is  the  Lord — that  is,  very  and  true  God,  ecpially 
with   the    P'ather   and    the   Son    eternal,   Ahni<;hty, 

*  Oral.  c.  Arianos,  II..  ^  18.    Opera  Patavii,  Tom.  i.,  p.  3S3  0. 

t  '*  De  Trinitate,"  II.  i.,  Opera  Veron;c,  1730,  Tom.  II.,  col.  26  A. 

t  St.  Augustine,  in  Jo.,  cap.  iv.,  Tract  XV.,  J5  12,  Opera,  Paris, 
1690,  Tom.  III.,  p.  2,  col.  4IQ  G  ;  De  Trin.  XV.,  J^  33,  Tom.  VIII., 
col.  990. 

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178 


THE   GIFT   OF  THE   HOLV   CIMOST. 


God  and  Lord.  He  is  also  the  life«^iver,  of  all  life 
that  is,  natural  and  spiritual.  Hence  it  is  that  the 
psalm  which  is  the  psalm  of  creation,  abounding  in 
life  (Psalm  104),  has  been  appropriated  to  Whit- 
sunday. By  His  o})eration  the  life,  which  is  in  the 
Word,  is  imparted  to  the  world.  He  is  the  Giver  of 
life  spiritual  ;  by  His  operation  the  dead  matter  of 
the  outward  and  visible  signs  in  the  sacraments  be- 
comes instinct  with  life,  for  the  conveyance  and  the 
maintenance  of  the  spiritual  life  in  each  faithful 
Christian.  He  is  a  distinct  Person.  "  Seeing  the 
Father  is  of  none,  the  Son  is  of  the  Father,  and  the 
Spirit  is  of  both,  they  are  by  these  their  several 
properties  really  distinguishable  each  from  other. 
For  the  substance  of  God  with  this  property  fo  be 
of  7io7ie  doth  make  the  Person  of  the  Father  ;  the 
very  selfsame  substance  in  number  with  this  prop- 
erty to  be  of  the  Father  maketh  the  Person  of  the  Son  ; 
the  same  substance  having  added  unto  it  the  prop- 
erty oi  proceeding  from  the  other  77£'<9  maketh  the  Per- 
son of  the  Holy  Ghost.  So  that  in  every  Person 
there  is  implied  both  the  substance  of  God,  which  is 
one,  and  also  that  property  which  causeth  the  same 
Person  really  and  truly  to  difter  from  the  other 
Two."^- 

He  is  called  "  the  wSpirit  of  the  Father,"  and  the 
Lord  Jesus  said  that  He  "  proceedeth  from  the 
Father,"  which  statement  has  been  incorporated  in  all 
full  Christian  Creeds.  But  also  He  is  called  "  the 
Spirit  of  the  Son  ;"  the  Lord  Jesus  said  of  Him,  "  I 
will  send  Him  unto  you  from  the  Father,"  from  the 


*  Hooker,  "  Ecclesiastical  Polity,"  Book  V.,  ch.  li.,  $^  i. 


THE   GIFT   OF  THE    IIOLV    GHOST. 


179 


immediate  Presence  of  the  Father,  from  beside  the 
Father  ;  he  is  also  said  to  be  jjiven  by  tlic    Son.* 
Therefore  we  confess  with  St.  Aiiirustine  +  that  "  the 
Holy  Spirit  proceeds  from  the  Son  also,"  as  well  as 
from  the  Father,  as  also  a  few  i)araij^raphs  i)reviouslv 
he    wrote;     "The    Holy   Spirit,   accordinir   to    the 
Scriptures,  is  neither  of  the  Father  alone,  nor  of  the 
Son   alone,    but  of   both,  and   so  intimates   to   us  a 
mutual  love,  wherewith  the  Father  and  the  Son  re- 
ciprocally love  One  Another."      Therefore    is    Jle 
believed  to  be  the  Bond  of  union  between  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  whereby  (to  speak  with  deepest  awe 
and  adoration)  they  two  are  mutually  revealed   One 
to  Other.      What  a  deep  mystery  is  hinted  at  in  the 
words  of  the  Apostle!     "The  Spirit  searcheth   all 
things,   even   the  depths  of  God.       For   what    man 
knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save  the  spirit  of  man 
which  is  in  him  ?     Even  so  the  things  of  God  know- 
eth none,  but  the  Spirit  of  God."  ^ 

The  Spirit,  therefore,  is  of  both  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  but  not  of  both  in  the  same  way.  There  is 
but  one  eternal,  efficient  Principle,  One  Source,  The 
Father.  When,  therefore,  we  acknowledge  the 
truth  of  the  Scriptures,  we  confess  that  "  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son  ;  neither 
made,  nor  created,  nor  begotten,  but  proceeding." 
The  vision  of  the  Apostle  St.  John  revealed  to  him  j^ 
"  a  pure  river  of  the  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal, 
proceeding   out   of  the  throne  of  God,  and   of  the 

*  St.  Matthew  10  :  20  ;  St.  John  15  :  26  ;  Galatiaiis  4  :  6. 
f  De  Trin.  XV.  xvii.,  g  29,  Opera,  Paris,   1694,  Tom.   VHI..  col. 
988. 

t  I  Corinthians  2  :  10.  S  Revelation  22  :  i. 


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THE   GIFT   OF   THE    IKJLV    GHOST. 


Lamb  ;"  this  has  been  thoug^ht  to  represent  the  pro- 
cession of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  we  do  nc^t  confess 
that  He  i)r()ceeds  from  the  Son,  as  from  an  inde- 
pendent source  or  ori<^in,  but  we  beheve  tiiat  He 
proceeds  from  the  Fatlier  throu<^h  the  Son. 

The  sensitive  character  of  the  Greek  language  en- 
ables it  to  represent  accuracy  of  doctrine  better  than 
others,  and  this  probably  is  at  the  root  of  the  seem- 
ing divergence  of  creed  between  Eastern  and  VV^est- 
ern  Christendom  in  this  matter.  When  it  shall  please 
God  that  in  this  "  the  envy  of  Ephraim  shall  depart, 
and  the  adversaries  of  Judah  shall  be  cut  off, 
Ephraim  shall  not  envy  Judah,  and  judah  shall  not 
vex  Ephraim  ;"  when  the  spirit  of  antagonistic  irri- 
tation shall  have  been  allayed,  then,  as  we  may  hope, 
we  shall  come  to  an  agreement  on  the  truth  and  the 
proper  mode  of  expressing  the  Truth.  There  is  no 
occasion  in  this  place  and  before  this  audience  to 
dwell  longer  on  the  divergence,  the  unhappy  diver- 
gence, of  expression  between  the  Eastern  and  West- 
ern Branches  of  the  Catholic  and  Orthodox  Church  ; 
reference  need  only  be  made  to  the  monograph  of 
one  of  your  own  professors  on  the  subject." 

Still  there  is  much  to  be  revealed  about  the  glori- 
ous Third  Person  of  the  Ever  Blessed  Trinity.  There 
are  hints  and  images  in  Scripture  which  evidently 
have  reference  to  Him,  which  are  still  without  ex- 
})lanation.  We  read  in  the  vision  of  the  Apocalypse 
of  "  the  Lamb,  having  seven  horns  and  seven  eyes, 
which  are  the  seven  spirits  of  God,"  and  the  passage 
seems  to  remind  us  of  hints  in  the  prophets  of  old,  in 


*  "  The  Nicene  Creed  and  the  Filioque,"  by  Rev.  T.  Richcy,  D.  D. 


THE   GIFT   OF   THE   HOLY   CHOST 


i8( 


Isaiah,  and  Zechariah,  and,  perchance,  Ezekiel. 
Zechariah  speaks  of  seven  eyes  upon  One  Stone— tlie 
Headstone,  or  the  Corner-Stone,  whicli  are  the  eyes 
of  the  Lord."  Isaiah  speaks  of  tlie  seven  Spirits 
which  should  rest  upon  the  Branch, f  and  the  order 
in  which  they  are  mentioned  is  in  itself  a  mvstery. 
It  seems  to  imply  that  the  seven  Spirits,  or,  as  some 
have  said,  ^ifts  of  the  Spirit,  form  a  ij^lorious  circle 
of  perfection,  so  that  wherever  a  commencement  is 
made,  the  return  will  brini(  you  to  the  same.  And 
wherever  you  be^in,  or  wherever  you  leave  off,  if 
vou  complete  the  circle  you  must  be^-in  where  vou 
leave  off,  and  leave  off  where  you  be^in.  Thus  St. 
Hilary  and  St.  Ambrose  show  how  the  proj^het 
Isaiah  enumerates  the  <;ifts  in  the  natural  order  of 
their  advance,  bej^innini^  from  Wisdom  and  advanc- 
in":  to  the  Fear  of  the  Lord.  While  St.  Grcijorv  the 
Great,  seeing-  that  Holy  Scripture  speaks  of  the  Fear 
of  the  Lord  as  the  bei^inning-  of  Wisdom,  beautifully 
likens  the  seven  gifts  to  the  seven  steps  which  led 
up  to  the  Temple  in  the  vision  of  Ezekiel.  As  you 
regard  the  seven  steps  you  would  be  inclined  to 
number  them  down  from  the  to[),  but  the  bottom 
step  would  be  the  one  first  trodden  upon  to  raise  the 
man  to  the  higher  level.  wSo,  saith  the  Saint,  the 
prophet  Isaiah  names  the  seven  gifts  from  the  top- 
most downward,  while  man,  to  ascend  up,  must  com- 
mence from  the  last-mentioned,  but  the  first  to  be 
attained,  which  is  the  Fear  of  the  Lord.:}: 

There  is  much  to  make  us  feel  that  the  full  teach- 


*  Zechariah  3  ;  q  ;  4  :  7,  lo.  f  Isaiah  11  ;  2. 

:|:  St.  Gregorii,  Opera,  Paris,  1705,  Tom.  !.,  col.  1380. 


,!l:    h 


182 


THE   GIFT  OF   THE    HOLY   GHOST. 


IS  f;'  '  , 


"    *•■; 


•11- 


inj;^  about  the  Holy  Spirit  is  still  to  be  revealed. 
The  number  seven,  which  clusters  about  these  inti- 
mations of  His  operation,  would  seem  to  teach  the 
perfection  of  His  work  ;  for  in  Scripture  seven  de- 
notes completion  and  perfection.* 

But  there  is  seen  to  be  a  special  relation  of  the 
Holy  wSpirit  toward  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  St. 
Paul  t  and  St.  Peter ;{:  both  call  Him  "  The  ^Spirit  of 
Christ;"  wSt.  Paul  §  calls  Him  also  "the  Spirit  of 
the  Son,"  while  St.  Luke,  in  the  Book  of  the  Acts,|[ 
calls  him  (as  the  true  reading  is)  "  the  Spirit  of 
Jesus."  We  can  understand,  therefore,  the  state- 
ment of  St.  Basil,  "  So,  then,  you  observe  there  are 
three,  the  Lord  Who  commands,  the  Word  Who 
creates,  the  Spirit  Who  establishes."  As  he  had 
said  just  before,  in  speaking  of  the  Creation  of  the 
angels,  "  By  the  will  of  the  Father  ministering  spirits 
subsist,  by  the  operation  of  the  Son  they  are  brought 
into  being,  and  by  the  Presence  of  the  Spirit  they 
are  perfected."  •[  The  work  of  establishing  and 
perfecting  that,  which  the  Son  has  created,  is  the 
special  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Thus,  at  the  creation,  we  read  that  when  the 
creature  had  being  granted  and  given  by  the  Son, 
then  "  the  Spirit  of  God  brooded  over  the  face  of 
the  waters,"  to  bring  the  work  to  perfection.  There 
is  also  a  similar  relation  to  be  seen  between  Revela- 
tion and  Inspiration  ;  Revelation  is  the  work  of  the 
Word,  as  was  seen  in  the  first  lecture  ;  Inspiration 
is  by  the  Holy  Spirit.     Revelations  may  be  for  a 


li 


*  See  Appendix  G.  G. 
X  I  St.  Peter  1:11. 
II  Acts  16  :  7. 


f  Romans  8  :  g. 

^  Gaiatians  4  :  6. 

1  '•  De  Sancto  Spiritu,"  g  38. 


THE   GIFT   OF   THF   HOLY   C.HOST. 


183 


revealed, 
lese  inti- 
teach  the 
seven   de- 

n  of  the 
ist.  St. 
Spirit  of 
Spirit  of 
le  Acts,  II 
Spirit  of 
le  state- 
Jiere  are 
rd  Who 
he  had 
)n  of  the 
ig  spirits 
brought 
irit  they 
ling  and 
J,  is   the 

hen  the 
he  Son, 
I  face  of 
There 
Revehi- 
k  of  the 
ipiration 
)e  for  a 


«."§38. 


local,  personal,  or  temporal  purpose,  whereas  In- 
spiration is  for  all  time.  Inspiration  enables  the  sub- 
ject of  it  to  choose  out  of  the  Revelations,  or,  as  in 
the  Old  Testament,  to  choose  out  of  the  history  of 
God's  dealings  with  His  people,  such  events  as  have, 
whether  as  types  or  otherwise,  an  interest  and  value 
for  the  Gospel  times,  and  so  for  all  time.  In  this, 
too,  is  seen  the  special  relation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
God  the  Word.* 

.  Similarly,  we  find  that  in  the  New  Creation,  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  to  carry  on  to  perfection 
that  which  the  Creator  Word  has  called  into  exist- 
ence, to  perfect  the  work  which  the  Son  has  in- 
itiated. This  is  true  in  the  Church  at  larire  and  in 
each  individual  member  of  the  Church.  Hence  it  is 
that  by  His  operation  we  know  God,  and  become 
more  and  more  like  Him.  As  St.  Basil  says,t  "In 
the  illumination  of  the  Spirit  we  see  the  '  true  Light, 
which  lighteth  every  man  coming  into  the  world.' 
So  that  in  Himself  He  shows  the  glory  of  the  Only 
Begotten,  and  to  true  worshippers  He  supi)lies  of  His 
own  means,  in  Himself,  the  knowledge  of  God.  wSo 
the  way  of  the  knowledge  of  God  is  from  one  Spirit 
through  the  one  Son,  to  the  One  Father.  And,  again, 
the  natural  goodness,  and  the  natural  sanctification, 
and  the  Royal  rank  originating  from  the  Father  extend 
through  the  Only  Begotten  to  the  Spirit.  Thus  the 
Persons  are  confessed,  and  at  the  same  time  the  godly 
doctrine  of  the  MonarcJiia  does  not  fall  through." 
The  same  St.  Basil  says  again  :X  "As  for  the  dis- 


*  See  "  The  Inspiration  of  Holy  Scripture,  its  Nature  and  Proof," 
by  Archdeacon  Lee,  D.D.,  of  Dublin,  4th  ed.,  Dublin,  1865. 

\Id'^  §47.  Xld.,  %  39- 


y-\i\ 


ii 


ii' 


ti 


i  i     :^i' 


if::;'! 

(  :  -;  ;i  ,'f 


(: 


is 


184 


THE   GIFT   OF  THE   IIOLV   GHOST. 


pensations  relating  to  man,  wroui^ht  by  our  great 
G'.<J  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  the 
goodness  of  God,  who  will  gainsay  that  they  are 
fulfilled  through  the  grace  of  the  Spirit  ?  Whether 
you  will  regard  the  things  of  old,  the  blessings  of 
the  patriarchs,  the  help  that  was  given  by  the  Law. 
the  tyi)es,  the  prophecies,  the  heroism  in  war,  the 
miracles  wrought  by  the  righteous,  or  the  events  of 
the  dispensation  concerning  the  appearing  of  the 
Lord  in  the  flesh,  all  was  by  means  of  the  wSpirit." 

At  the  creation  of  man,  when  the  body  oi  the  man 
had  been  prepared,  then  the  Holy  Spirit  was  breathed 
into  Adam,  and  he  became  a  living  soul.  But  when 
Adam  sinned,  this  glorious  Presence,  which  clothed 
his  soul  like  the  robe  of  the  King's  Son,  was  stripped 
off  him.  "  A  certain  man  went  down  from  Jerusa- 
lem to  Jericho,  and  fell  among  thieves,  which  stripped 
him  of  his  raiment,  and  wounded  him,  and  departed, 
leaving  him  half  dead."  This  has  been  thought  by 
many  to  represent,  in  parable,  the  fall  of  Adam. 
The  glorious  robe  of  the  Presence  was  stripped  off, 
leaving  a  sense  of  nakedness,  and  his  spoilers  left 
him  for  a  while  really  half  dead — dead  in  soul  and 
dying  in  body.  In  the  curious  apocryphal  legend 
called  the  Revelation  of  Moses,  Eve  is  represented 
as  speaking  of  her  fall  and  saying  :  "  In  that  very 
hour  mine  eyes  were  opened,  and  I  knew  that  I  was 
naked  of  the  righteousness  with  which  I  had  been 
clothed."  This  will  explain  the  intensity  of  poig- 
nant grief  always  attached  in  Holy  Scripture  to  the 
shame  of  being  naked  ;  it  is  the  anguish,  inexpressi- 
bly keen  anguish,  of  the  loss  of  God's  Presence. 

In  the  first  creation  the  Creator  Word  "  formed 


THK   (;iFr   OF   THE   IIOI.V   GHOST. 


185 


poijj-. 


. 


i 


Adam  and  then  breathed  into  his  nostrils  tlic  Hrcatli 
of  Life.  For  the  I  loly  Spirit  cannot  be  received  un- 
less he  who  receives  have  first  of  all  an  existence."  '^' 

Similarly,  as  by  analo<;y,  we  should  expect,  (iod 
the  Word  prepared  the  world  of  men  for  the  re- 
newed communication  of  the  Spirit  of  life  ;  that  (as 
the  fathers  with  one  voice  affirm)  what  man  lost  in 
Adam,  he  receives  in  Christ  the  last  Adam,  the  sec- 
ond man. 

The  text  teaches  us  this:  "The  Holy  Cihost  was 
not  yet  ^iven,  because  that  Jesus  was  not  Li^lorihed." 
This  threat  Gift  was  not  s^iven  before  the  Death, 
Resurrection,  and  Ascension  of  the  Son  of  God. 
For  the  world  of  men  had  to  be  pre])ared  for  this 
great  Gift,  as  the  body  of  Adam  had  been  pre})ared. 
The  mission  of  God  the  Son  to  the  world  was  to  a 
world  of  men  alienated  from  God  by  sin.  "  God 
was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself." 
This  reconciliation  commenced  at  the  moment  of  the 
Incarnation,  progressed  in  the  sinless  life  of  the 
Saviour,  was  inaugurated  in  the  Crucifixion,  con- 
summated in  the  Resurrection,  manifested  in  the 
Ascension.  "  To-day  (said  St.  Chrysostom,  preach- 
ing on  Ascension  Dav )  reconciliation  with  C»od  was 
completed  for  the  race  of  men  ;  to-day  the  long-con- 
tinued enmity  was  abolished  ;  the  long  war  was 
ended.  To-day  a  wonderful  peace  returned  never 
before  expected." 

St.  John  in  the  text  speaks  of  the  whole  action  of 
the  Passion,  Resurrection,  and  Ascension  as  "  the 
glorifying"  of  Jesus.     It  completed  the  work  of  rec- 


S:.  Cyprian,  Ep.  Ixxiv. 


iH       ' 

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ii5  I 

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ri 


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J    ^    '    :: 

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ay^";^ 

1 86 


TlIK    GIFT   OF   THE    HOLY    GHOST. 


onciliation,  so  far  as  the  Lord  was  tlic  doer  of  it. 
His  mission  was  to  an  alienated  world  of  men  to 
reconcile  them  to  God.  Thereupon  followed  the 
mission  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Ilis  mission  was  to  a 
reconciled  world — a  world  prepared  for  His  Advent 
by  "the  glorifyinj^"  of  God  the  Word.  Hitherto 
He  had  been  workini^,  but  it  was  from  without  (so 
to  speak) — in  the  exterior  ;  He  had  been  a  i^uide,  a 
support  from  without.*  But  his  relation  to  man 
was  now  to  be  chan<rcd.  "  He  is  with  you  (said  the 
Lord),  and  shall  bef  in  you."  The  parable  of  the 
Prodii^al  Son  speaks  of  the  Restoration  of  the  Robe 
which  had  been  lost ;  "  bring-  forth  the  Jirs^  Robe  and 
put  it  on  him."  And  the  still  later  parable,  spoken 
on  the  last  day  of  the  Lord's  ministr}',  teaches  us 
the  awful  doom  of  the  one  who,  having  had  the 
opportunity  of  bein<^  clothed  upon,  is  found  naked.:}: 
What  was  lost  in  Adam  is  restored  in  Christ  in  mani- 
fold abundance,  but  it  may  be  lost  again,  therefore. 
"  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth  and  keepeth  his  gar- 
ments lest  he  walk  naked."  § 

When,  therefore,  the  Lord  was  glorified,  when 
the  entrance  of  a  Man  into  the  innermost  Presence 
of  God  in  Heaven  proved  manifestly  that  the  recon- 
ciliation between  God  and  man  was  complete  ;  then, 
and  not  till  then,  the  Gift,  the  unspeakable  Gift,  the 
Gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  was  given  to  the  Church, 
and  to  the  individual  members  of  the  Church.  This 
was  signified  seemingly  by  the  appearance  like  as  of 

*  See  Appendix  HH. 

\  St.  John  14  :  17.    The  future  is  adhered  to  as  the  reading  of  many 
first-class  mss.  and  versions,  and  of  the  Greek  Fathers. 

t  Revelation  16  :  15.  §  St.  Matt.  22  :  11. 


TIIK   GIFT   OK   TllK    Ilol.V    CHOSI'. 


IS; 


cr  of  it. 

men  to 
^vcd  the 
kvas  to  a 

Advent 
litherto 
liout  (so 
^uidc,  a 
to  man 
said  the 
i  of  the 
ic  Robe 
obe  and 
spoken 
:hes  us 
lad  the 
laked.:): 
II  mani- 
Tefore, 
lis  gar- 

when 
esence 
recon- 
;  then, 
ift,  the 
hurch, 

This 
e  as  of 


of  many 
22  :  II. 


tire.  For,  as  St.  Chrysostoin  says,  the  word  tnins- 
hited  "chjven"  means  rather  divided  from  one  com- 
mon root  ;  as  if  tliere  were  at  first  one  common  mass 
from  which  spikelets,  or  tongues,  were  separateil  to 
each  head.  This  would  tyi)ify  at  once  tlie  indwell- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  tlie  Church,  as  one  Body, 
and  also  in  each  individual  member  of  the  Church. 

But  when  we  say  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  not 
thus  previously  given,  we  must  remember  that  we 
speak  of  a  quite  new  relation  set  up  as  at  this  time  ; 
it  is  not  that  His  operations  had  not  been  before  as 
widely  extended,  but  they  were  of  a  different  char- 
acter. 

His  work,  we  have  said,  is  to  carry  on  to  com- 
pletion what  the  Word  has  inaugurated.  At  the 
same  time  He  is  intimately  connected  with  the  Hu- 
manity of  Gt)d  the  Son,  and  extends  the  benefits 
thereof  to  mankind.  By  His  operation  the  Incarna- 
tion took  place.  The  Word  was  conceived  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Before  the  commencement  of  His 
Ministry,  the  Lord  Jesus  was  visibly  anointed  by  the 
descent  upon  Him  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  it  was 
through  the  Eternal  Spirit  that  He  offered  Himself 
without  spot  to  God.  All  this  was  for  our  sakes. 
He  that  brought  about  the  Incarnation  is  He  that 
extends  the  Incarnation  to  us  through  the  Sacra- 
ments. St.  Athanasius  *  is  bold  to  say  (and  other 
fathers  say  much  the  same)  :  "  The  descent  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  (after  His  Baptism)  did  not  convey  any 
sort  of  advantage  to  the  Word,  but  it  was  for  our 
sanctification,  that  we  might   be   partakers   of  His 


Opera,  Patavii,  1777,  Tom.  i.,  356  ;  Orat.  I.  c.  Arianos,  §  47. 


■Hi 


188 


THE  Girr  OF  TlIK   IIOLV   (WIOST. 


>■  •\ 


,..* 


unction."  "When  He  rccci\'C(l  tlie  Spirit,  we 
becaniu  Irotn  lliiii  ca[jal)Ic  of  receiving  the  Spirit." 
So,  aj^^ain,  il  it  he  "  by  the  Internal  Spirit  liiat  Ciirist 
offered  llimself  without  spot  to  God."  it  is  by  the 
operation  of  tiie  same  Spiri*  tnat  tliere  is  i)ro(hiced 
in  man  a  hatred  of  sin,  as  Gf)d  in  that  saciilice  is 
seen  to  hate  sin.  'I'hus  tiirou<jjhout  in  the  New  Cre- 
ation the  Iloly  Sj)irit  carries  on  to  perfection  the 
work  of  the  Word. 

First,  in  the  Ciuircliat  hirj^e  :  He  is  the  Autiior  of 
the  I  lypostatic  Union  i)etween  the  two  natures  of  our 
Hlcssed  I^ord;  lie  is  the  Author  of  the  Mystical  Union 
between  Clirist  and  the  Church  ;  He  is  the  Author 
of  tlie  Sacramental  Union  of  the  members  of  the  Mys- 
tical Body  with  their  Head  and  with  each  other. 
"  All  have  been  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit." 

Here,  once  more,  is  there  a  direct  Divine  interven- 
tion in  the  course  of  human  events,  thouj^h  it  is  but 
the  result  of  the  intervention  in  the  mystery  of  the 
Incarnation.  The  intervention  in  the  Incarnation 
was  secret  and  known  only  to  a  few  (as  we  now  are 
beginning-  to  celebrate],*  but  the  Christian  Church 
was  organized  publicly  in  Jerusalem  (which  is  the 
mother  of  us  all)  by  a  definite  intervention  publicly 
recognized  at  the  time  by  representatives  "  of  every 
nation  under  heaven."  Thus  runs  the  recoid, 
"  There  were  dwelling  at  Jerusalem  Jews,  devout 
men,  from  every  nation  under  heaven.  Now  when 
this  was  noised  abroad,  the  multitude  came  together, 
and  were  confounded,  because  that  every  man  heard 
them  speak  in  his  own  language."  The  result  of 
what  they  saw  and  heard,  and  of  the  sermon  preached 

*  Tliis  lecture  was  delivered  on  March  24'h. 


THK   CIFT   OK   TIIK    Iloi.V    (JIFOST. 


189 


by  ^t.  IV'ttM*  was  that  "  the  same  day  were  added 
unto  |tlie  little  lloek  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  | 
about  three  thousand  souls.  And  tlu;  l-oid  was  con- 
tinually adding",  day  by  day,  to  the  CMun\  h  those 
who  were  in  a  state  of  salvation."  " 

Thus  was  there  formed  an  elect  bod)  ,  the  Kini;- 
dom  of  God.  the  Church,  which  should  <:;<)  on  and 
prosper  and  j^ather  in  the  world,  ( )l  nhl,  lor  the 
sake  ot  the  world,  there  was  an  elect  bod\ ,  the  family 
of  Jacob,  the  chilrlren  of  Israel,  to  keep  alive  the 
knowledij^e  of  God  and  to  be  the  means  ol  1  lis  Reve- 
lation to  the  world.  ^Vithin  this  elect  bodv  there 
was  another  body  who  were  to  be  a  speciid  protest 
against  worldly  and  carnal  aims  and  tlesires.  The 
whole  tribe  of  Lr^ .  i  were  ch^^en  in  lieu  of  the  tirst- 
born  to  draw  near  unto  f  iod  and  to  luinister  to  I  lim. 
Ainon;^  these,  a^^ain,  tlierc  was  one  chosen  family  of 
priests.  The  one  ^reat  blessin<^  j^'ranted  to  the 
privilci^ed  tribe  oi  Levi  was,  that  f  thev  "had  no 
j)art  nor  inheritance  with  his  bretliren  ;  the  Lokd  is 
his  inheritance,  according  as  the  Lord  thy  (iod 
j)romised  him."  This,  then,  was  the  contiiuial  cry 
of  a  Levite,  "  Thou  art  my  portion,  ()  Lord."  :{: 
"  The  liOrd  is  my  portion,  saith  my  soul,"  was  the 
deep  consolation  of  the  priest  prophet.,^  when  his 
nation  was  captive  and  his  land  laid  desolate.  When 
the  Levite  psalmist  ;!  was  in  poverty  and  sickness, 
and  his  faith  was  for  a  while  disturbed,  because  C»od 
had  not  given  him  health  and  wealth,  then   his  eyes 


*  Acts  2:56,  41,  47. 

f  Deuteronomy  10  :  9  ;  12  :  12  ;  14  :  27,  29,  etc. 

^  Psalm  119  :  57.  i^  Lamentations  3  :  24. 

II  Psalms  73  :  2,  17,  26. 


1, '::;.> 

'14 

1 

■      i:             y 

'i 

' 

K     '  il'*' 

L 

»''..;■'!! 

190 


THE   GIFT   OF  THE   IIOl.V   GHOST. 


were  opened  to  his  real  ])osition  when  "  he  went  into 
the  Sanctuary  of  C»od,"  and  he  felt  he  could  say 
what  none  but  one  of  his  tribe  could,  "  Mv  flesh  and 
my  heart  faileth,  but  Ciod  is  the  strens^th  of  my  heart, 
and  my  portion  forever  ;"  he  had  that  which  none 
could  take  from  him. 

As,  then,  the  Levites  were  to  be  a  consecratint( 
nucleus  of  the  Jewish  Church,  and  as  the  Jewish 
Church  was  to  be  a  separate  or  elect  body  for  the 
sake  of  the  Gentile  world,  so  now  the  Christian 
Church  was  to  be  the  consecratinj^  medium  of  the 
whole  world.  As  said  the  Lord,  "  The  Kin_<(dom 
of  I  leaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  which  a  woman  took 
and  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal  until  the  whole 
was  leavened."  * 

This,  then,  is  the  last  Divine  intervention,  the  last 
disi)ensation  in  this  world,  preparin<^  for  the  final 
Revelation,  the  eighth  day  of  eternity.  Hence  the 
Gospel  times  in  which  we  live  are  spoken  of  in 
Scripture  as  "  the  last  times,"  or  the  "  latter  days." 
Therefore  the  beautiful  Christian  poet  f  calls  Chris- 
tians "  the  people  of  the  evening-,"  the  evening-  of 
the  world  ;  therefore  Tertullian  spoke  of  the  Gospel 
times  as  the  settin<^  age.  or  the  age  of  sunset,  the 
evening  of  the  world.  This  is  the  reason  why  the 
Church  has  ever  sung  the  Magnificat  and  the  Nunc 
Dimittis  at  even-song-,  in  memory  of  the  light  of  the 
Gospel  illumining  the  evening  of  the  world,  in  prep- 
aration for  the  morning  of  eternity. 

Of  these  times  the  prophets  had  said  :  "  Also  upon 


*  St.  Matthew  13  :  33. 

t  Prudentius-Psychomachia,  376,  ed.  Arevali,  Tom.  ii.,  p.  621. 


THE   GIFT   OF   THE   l?OLV   GHOST. 


191 


the  servants  and  upon  the  handmaids  in  those  days 
will  I  pour  out  My  Spirit,"-  words  that  St.  Teter 
claimed  as  referrin<r  to  the  ^reatoutpourinir  at  I'ente- 
cost  at  the  Birth  of  the  Church.  All  Christians, 
then,  now  have  "  the  })romise  of  the  Father"  in  far 
fuller  abundance,  and  in  more  intimate  relation  tluin 
the  priests  and  Levites  of  old,  who  could  claim  the 
Lord  their  God  for  their  inheritance. 

Not  only  is  the  Holy  Spirit  the  author  of,  and 
means  whereby,  the  cori)orate  unity  is  maintained, 
but  He  is  the  Life  of  the  Church,  whereby  She  j^rows, 
i^rows  with  the  increase  of  (iod  ;  "grows  in  wis- 
dom and  stature  and  in  favor  with  (iod  and  man." 

"Grows  in  wisdom."  "lie  shall  take  of  mine 
and  shall  show  it  unto  you,"  said  the  Lord.  "  lie 
will  guide  you  into  all  truth.  He  shall  glorify  Me." 
Gradually  does  He  reveal  the  full  majesty  of  the 
Son,  guiding  into  all  the  Truth  those  who  follow 
His  leading  ;  and  guiding,  not  without  effort  on  1  ler 
part,  the  Church,  "  into  the  Truth  in  all  its  parts."  f 
Hence  He  guides  the  councils  of  the  Church  into  the 
declaration  of  the  Truth.  "  It  seemed  good  to  the 
Holy  (ihost  and  to  us,"  :{;  said  the  first  Apostolic 
Council.  The  Church  is  a  living  Body,  and  there 
must  be  advance  and  growth.  St.  X'incent  of  Lerins 
likens  the  growth  of  doctrine  to  a  living  body. 
There  must  be  advancement,  he  says,^  "  But  yet  in 
such  sort  that  it  may  be  truly  an  increase  in  faith, 
and  not  a  change.  ...  In  this  let  the  religion  of 
our  souls  imitate  the  nature  of  our  bodies,  which, 


*  Joel  2  :  29.  f  Westcott,  /;/  loc. 

J;  Commonilorium,  cap.  23. 


X  Acts  15  :  28. 


MHuattiMiMliik 


J 


;i 


^ 


■5    J 


ii" 
I'll 
i; 


|H 


!• 


I 


192 


THE   GIFT   OF  THE    HOLY   GHOST. 


althouj^h  with  process  of  time  they  develop  and  un- 
fold their  proportions,  yet  remain  the  same  that  they 
were.  .  .  .  Christian  doctrine  must  follow  these 
laws  of  growth,  to  wit,  that  with  years  it  wax  more 
sound,  with  time  it  become  more  ample,  with  con- 
tinuance it  be  more  exalted,  yet  that  it  remain  incor- 
rupt and  entire,  and  continue  full  and  perfect  in  the 
proportion  of  each  of  its  parts,  and,  as  it  were,  with 
all  its  members  and  proper  senses."  He  alone  Who 
of  old  spake  by  the  prophets,  and  in  these  last  times 
inspired  the  Apostle  and  Evangelists,  can  lead  the 
Church  and  the  various  members  of  the  Church  into 
a  full  understanding  of  Holy  Scripture.  Vear  by 
year,  more  and  more,  do  the  beauties  and  teaching 
unfold  themselves  ;  constantly  should  we  pray  with 
the  Church  in  the  Canticles,  "  Come,  Thou  South 
Wind,  and  blow  upon  my  garden,  that  the  spices 
thereof  ma}^  How  out."  * 

Again,  the  Living  Church  must  grow  in  stature. 
She  must  be  aggressive,  seeking  to  bring  all  within 
the  fold  ;  with  utmost  charity  seeking  to  win,  but  at 
the  same  time  when  necessary  "  mighty  through 
God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds  ;"  because 
she  has  "  the  Sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  Word 
of  God."  Still  the  loving  persuasion  of  invitation 
must  be,  "  Let  him  that  thirsteth  come  ;  and  who- 
soever will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely."  f 

The  Holy  Spirit  also  makes  the  Church,  the  Bride, 
more  and  more  pleasing  in  God's  sight.  By  the 
operation  and  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit  does  the 
Son  "  sanctify  and  cleanse  the  Church  with  the  wash- 


*  Canticles  4  :  16. 


f  Revtlation  22  :  17. 


THE   GIFT   OF  THE   HOLY   GHOST. 


193 


ing  of  water  by  the  Word,  that  He  mii^ht  present  it 
to  Himself  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  si)()t  or 
wrinkle  or  any  such  thing,  but  that  it  should  be  holy 
and  without  blemish."*  He  is  the  "  Si)irit  of  Holi- 
ness," therefore  His  indwelling  is  the  first  reason 
why  one  of  the  titles  of  the  Church  is  Holy.  Even 
in  the  darkest  times  there  is  a  remnant,  as  there  ever 
has  been.  The  Holy  Spirit,  indeed,  in  Scripture, 
warns  us  that  there  will  be  great  falling  away.  We 
have  no  sure  warranty  that  the  candlestick  will  not 
be  removed  from  any  particular  Church.  If,  then,  the 
Spirit  is  grieved  and  quenched,  that  particular 
Branch  will  dwindle  and  die.  If  the  sap  flows  not 
into  it  from  its  abiding  in  the  True  Vine,  "  it  is  cast 
forth  as  a  branch,  and  is  withered  ;  and  they  gather 
them,  and  cast  them  into  the  fire,  and  they  are 
burned,  "t  But  this  does  not  mar  the  life  of  the 
Church,  though  it  cripples  her  extension.  We  must 
remember,  in  our  conceit,  that  God  sees  not  as  man 
sees.  Elijah  said,  "  I,  even  I  only,  remain  ;"  and 
Cardinal  Newman  could  say,  "  I  look  into  this  liv- 
ing, busy  world  and  see  no  reflection  of  its  Crea- 
tor ;"  but  God  saw  seven  thousand  where  Elijah 
saw  none,  and  the  fault  may  be  in  our  own 
eyes. 

Here,  then,  we  must  say  one  word  about  such 
bodies  as  have  separated  themselves  from  the  Com- 
munion of  the  Church.  The  individual  members, 
if  they  have  been  baptized,  are  so  far  forth  members 
of  the  Church.  When  they  seek  admission  into  the 
Communion  of  the  Church  they  are  not  rebaptized. 


*  Ephesians  5  :  26,  27. 
13 


f  St.  John  15  :  6. 


1     1: 


■-■  r  ii 


i' 


.  !  cj 


.  i,W?; 


194 


THE   GIFT   OF  THE   HOLY   GHOST. 


As  St.  Vincent  of  Lerins*  says,  such  a  practice  is 
"  a<^ainst  the  Divine  Scripture,  against  the  rule  of 
the  Universal  Church,  against  the  mind  of  all  the 
Priests  of  the  time,  against  the  custom  and  tradition 
of  the  fathers."  But  it  is  also  the  universal  teach- 
ing that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  "  given"  outside  the 
Church  as  an  indwelling  Power.f  There  is  no  prom- 
ised indwelling  of  the  Spirit.  The  Shechinah  is 
conhned  to  the  One  Temple.  But  He  "  bloweth 
where  He  listeth,"  and  we  have  no  right  to  limit 
His  gracious  influences.  We  admire  and  are  thank- 
ful for  the  good  which  God  is  pleased  to  do  by  their 
means,  but  we  cannot  acquiesce  in  their  separation, 
we  must  do  all  in  our  power  to  entice  them  back  to 
the  one  flock  under  the  one  Shepherd,  "endeavor- 
ing to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace.  For  there  is  One  Body  and  One  wSpirit,  even 
as  we  are  called  in  One  hope  of  one  calling.  One 
Lord,  One  Faith,  One  Baptism,  One  God  and  Father 
of  all,  Who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  us 
all."  + 

But  the  gracious  indwelling  in  the  Church  is  ex- 
tended to  all  the  faithful  members  of  the  Church. 
The  central  mass,  like  as  of  fire,  was  cloven,  divided 
out,  so  as  to  sit  on  the  head  of  each  individual  mem- 
ber. The  golden  pipes,  whereby  the  oil  of  grace  is 
derived  to  each  member,  are  the  means  of  grace  ap- 
pointed b}'  Christ  and  employed  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Ill  this,  too,  as  elsewhere,  the  Holy  Ghost  carries 
forward  to  perfection  the  work  which  Christ  com- 


*  Commonitorium,  cap,  6. 
X  Ephesians  4  :  3-5. 


f  See  Appendix  II. 


THE   GIFT   OF  THE   IIOIA'   (IlIOST. 


'95 


menced.  Each  means  of  grace,  each  sacrament,  do- 
rives  its  efficacy  from  the  assured  ojjeration  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Each  means  of  <,rrace  is  a  golden  pipe 
whereby  the  grace,  stored  in  the  Incarnate  Saviour 
as  in  a  Reservoir,  is  conveyed  to  the  members  of 
His  Body. 

In  the  initiating  Sacrament  of  Baptism  it  is  "  by 
one  Spirit  (that)  we  are  baptized  into  one  body  ;"  •- 

it  is  "  the  washing  of  Regeneration  and  renewhig  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  f  This  is  now  accepted  as'^the 
interpretation  of  the  Lord's  words  to   Nicodemus  : 

"  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit, 
he  cannot  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  God. "  Hooker 
truly  said  :  '*  Of  all  the  ancient  there  is  not  one  to 
be  named  that  ever  did  otherwise  either  expound  or 
allege  the  place,  than  as  implying  external  Bap- 
tism." X  It  is  true  that  St.  Cyprian  and  others  held 
it  to  include  Confirmation,  which  they  regarded  as 
a  Baptism  of  the  Spirit  ;  but  this  did  not  exclude 
external  Ba})tism  with  water. 

^  The  Holy  Ghost  prepared  the  Body  natural  of 
Christ  at  the  Incarnation  ;  it  is  He  who  cleanses  us 
from  the  taint  received  at  our  natural  birth  and  then 
uicorporates  us  into  the  immaculate  Body  of  Christ. 
These  are  the  "two  ends  proposed  in  Baptism,",^ 
a  death  unto  sin  and  a  new  birth  unto  righteousness. 
"  This,  then,  is  to  be  born  again  of  water  and  the 
Spirit,  for  death  is  effected  in  the  water,  but  our  Life 
is  wrought  through  the  Spirit."  Therefore,  in  the 
piayer  in  the  Baptismal  service,  we  pray  that  the 

*  I  Corinthians  12  :  13.  |  -pilus  3  :  5. 

t  Hooker,  "  Ecclesiastical  Polity,"  Book  V.,  chap.  Ijx.,  g  3. 
$5  St.  Basil,  /oc.  cit.    Appendix  BB. 


T 


'"If. 


J^'  Hi- 
ll !•■■■ 

;:  ■!:  i- 


:      i 


m 


ifl 


(:" 


196 


THE   GIFT  OF  TIIF    IK)LY   GHOST. 


Holy  Sj)irit  may  be  given  to  the  Catechumen  in  order 
that  he  may  be  born  again. "^^'  So  Tertullian,  beauti- 
fully referring  to  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  says  : 
"  Water  was  the  first  to  |)roduce  that  which  had 
life,  that  it  might  be  no  wonder  in  Baptism  if  waters 
know  how  to  give  life  .  .  .  the  Spirit  of  God  who 
hovered  over  the  waters  in  the  beginning  would 
continue  to  linger  over  the  waters  of  the  baptized." 

But,  as  has  been  said,  the  Tloly  Spirit  continually 
carries  on  to  perfection  the  work  commenced  by 
God  the  Son.  In  the  Church  at  large  this  is  seen  in 
comparing  the  four  records  of  the  Gospel  with  the 
Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  these  histories 
again  with  the  Epistles  following. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  three  earlier  Evangelists 
record  but  little  of  the  doctiine  about  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  though  there  is  emphatic  reference 
to  Him  in  each  of  the  three  records.  St.  Matthew 
gives  the  Baptismal  formula  in  the  Commission  to 
the  Apostles  at  the  end  of  the  great  forty  da3'S. 
This  is  the  essence  of  all  creeds,  as  St.  Basil  inti- 
mates. "  As  we  believe  on  the  Father,  and  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  so  also  are  we  baptized  into 
the  Name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  confession  goes  before  leading  to 
salvation,  while  baptism  follows  after  setting  the  seal 
on  our  assent ."  f 

St.  Mark  records  in  direct  terms  the  indwelling  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  disciples.  "  Take  no  thought 
beforehand  what  ye  shall  speak,  neither  do  ye  pre- 
meditate, but  whatsoever  shall  be  given  you  in  that 


*  See  Appendix  KK.         f  "  De  Sancto  Spiritu,"  cap.  12,  ad  Jin. 


THE   GIFT   OF    TIIK    IIOLV    GHOST. 


197 


hour,  that  speak  ye  ;  for  it  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but 
the  Holy  Ghost."  * 

St.  Luke  t  has  the  warninji^  against  the  blasphemy 
against  the  Holy  Ghost,  "  unto  him  that  blasphem- 
eth  against  the  Holy  Ghost  it  shall  not  be  forgiven." 

It  is  mainly  in  the  record  by  St.  John,  written 
toward  the  end  of  his  life,  when  Christianity  had 
been  preached  for  more  than  sixty  years,  that  we 
read  of  the  teaching  about  the  Holy  Spirit  in  our 
Lord's  discourse  at  the  mysterious  Last  Suj)per.* 
"  The  Comforter,  VV^hich  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  Whom 
the  Father  will  send  in  My  Name,  He  shall  te:.ch 
you  all  things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  remem- 
brance, whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you."  "  Him 
I  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father,  even  the  vSpirit 
of  Truth,  Which  proceedeth  from  the  Father,  He 
shall  testify  of  Me."  "He  will  guide  you  into  all 
Truth.  He  shall  glorify  Me  ;  for  He  shall  take  of 
Mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto  you." 

The  Book  of  the  Acts  is  a  record  of  how  these  say- 
ings of  the  Lord  have  been  fulfilled.  wSo  much  so 
that  Professor  Westcott  has  well  said  :  §  "  The  Book 
of  the  Acts  is  the  Gospel  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
typical  record  of  His  action.  There  we  see  how,  at 
each  stage  of  the  building  of  the  Church,  the  per- 
sonal direction  of  the  Spirit  rules  the  conduct  of  its 
earthly  founders.  The  voice  of  the  Spirit  showed 
to  St.  Philip,  to  St.  Peter,  to  St.  Paul,  the  widening 
limits  of  their  teaching,  and  in  some  cases  the  very 
details  of   their  fortunes."     In  similar  fashicjn   has 


*  St.  Mark  13  :  11. 


f  St.  Luke  12  :  10. 


:j:  St.  John  14  :  16,  17,  23-26  ;  15  :  26  ;  16  :  7-14. 
i^  "  Historic  Faith,"  p.  106. 


\l  '] 


,fl 


h.; 


I  ;.  ] 
'Sua 


*'»!5 


:iii 


1!  '  ;■ 


It; 

!7r 


■  iH 


i    <     Ml 
t  t 

}   •    . 


i'  ' 


77^ 


't/ 


I!      I  I 


ii' 


198 


THE   GIFT   OF  THK    HOLY   GHOST. 


Bishop  Harvey  Goodwin  written  :  *  "If  the  Gospels 
can  be  rightly  described  as  tlie  history  of  the  min- 
istry of  the  Son,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  may  be 
snitably  described  as  the  history  of  the  ministry  of 
the  Holy  Ghost." 

In  the  Epistles  we  seem  to  be  breathin<^  the  very 
Breath  of  the  Spirit.  Each  Apostle  takes  for  granted 
that  his  hearers  have  the  Spirit  and  are  in  the  Spirit, 
and  claim  this  for  themselves. 

Then,  for  the  individual,  it  is  taken  for  granted 
that  none  is  perfect  in  his  Christian  privileges  until 
he  has  received  the  Holy  Spirit  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands.  This  is  seen  clearly  in  the  case  of  the  Samar- 
itans, who  had  been  baptized  by  a  Deacon  ;  "  they 
were  only  in  the  position  of  persons  who  had  been 
baptized  ;"  therefore  St.  Peter  and  St.  John  went 
down  to  confirm  them.  U  is  evident  that,  as  St. 
Paul  went  about  and  found  "  disciples,"  who  pro- 
fessed to  have  been  baptized,  he  made  it  his  custom 
to  ask,  as  he  did  at  Ephesus,  "  Have  ye  received  the 
Holy  Ghost  since  ye  believed  ?" 

The  reception  of  the  Holy  ^Spirit  was  typified  by 
the  use  of  holy  oil.  When  St.  John  spoke  of  this 
and  said  :  "  Ye  have  an  Unction  from  the  Holy 
One,"  he  probably  spoke  in  simile.  But  the  use  of 
oil  in  Confirmation  commenced  very  early.  Tertul- 
lian  speaks  of  it  at  the  end  of  the  second  century. 
Theophilus  of  Antioch  (a.D.  180)  likens  Confirmation 
to  the  finishing  porcelain  with  glaze,  or  burnishing 
metal.  "  What  work  (he  says)  has  either  ornament 
or  beauty  unless  it  be  anointed  and  burnished.     The 


*  "  Foundations  of  the  Creed,"  p.  249. 


'j:  - 


THE   GIFT   OF   THE   HOLY   C.HOST. 


199 


air  and  all  that  is  under  heaven  is  in  a  certain  sort 
anointed  by  light  and  spirit,  and  are  you  unwilling 
to  be  anointed  with  the  oil  of  God  ?  We  are  called 
Christians  on  this  account,  because  we  are  anointed 
with  the  oil  of  God."  *  So,  too,  in  the  fifth  century, 
St.  Cyril  of  Alexandria  writes;  "The  use  of  oil 
finishing  to  perfection  has  been  before  laid  upon 
those  who  are  justified  in  Christ  by  Holy  Baptism." 

This,  then,  may  perhaps  lead  us  to  see  a  reason 
for  the  name  given  to  Confirmation  in  Dionvsius  of 
Areopagus.  He  calls  the  rite  "  the  perfecting  unc- 
tion," and  says  :  "  The  perfecting  unction  of  holy  oil 
makes  him  that  has  been  initiated  (baptized)  well- 
pleasing  ;  for  the  sacred  perfection  of  the  divine 
regeneration  unites  things  that  were  initiated  to  the 
Supreme  Spirit."  As  the  very  word  "  perfecting" 
is  ascribed  to  the  Holy  Spirit  by  St.  Basil,  it  may 
have  the  meaning  here  that  the  rite  of  unction  is  the 
communication  of  the  Perfecting  Spirit,  and  not 
merely  that  it  is  the  perfecting  of  that  which  was 
commenced  in  Baptism. 

In  respect  of  the  laying  on  of  hands,  commonly 
called  Confirmation,  we  have  no  need  to  ask  how 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  connected  with  this  rite.  The 
careful  student  of  Scripture  will  at  once  recognize 
the  ruth  of  what  the  present  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury iias  well  said  :  "No  thread  of  language  and 
history  is  more  distinct  than  that  which  connects 
Christ's  promise  of  the  coming  of  the  Paraclete  to 
be  an  Indwelling  Power  in  all  His  chosen  ones, 
with  the  institute  of  the  Laying  on  of  Hands  by  the 


;j  I 


Ad  Aulolycum,  I.,  xii. 


200 


THE   GIFT   OF  TIIK    HOLY   GHOST. 


■1  i     ( 


I     I 


II  Si' 


Apostles.  On  the  Twelve  lie  came  with  a  visible 
Epiphany,  as  every  analogy  would  expect.  On 
Christians  at  lar<2^e  Me  came  in  this  plainest  sim- 
plicity. '  I  will  send  Him  unto  you.  They  laid 
their  hands  on  them.  He  fell  on  them.'  And  ever 
after,  in  the  letters  of  the  Apostles,  such  is  the  fre- 
quency of  verbal  and  phraseological  allusion  to  the 
custom,  that,  as  a  scholar  once  remarked  to  me, 
'  Conhrmation  seems  more  ])resent  to  the  earliest 
Christian  habits  of  thought  than  Baptism  itself.'  "  * 
Confirmation  has  always  been  traced  back  to  the 
time  when  Philip  the  Deacon  had  baptized  the 
Samaritans,  and  St.  Peter  and  wSt.  John,  the  two 
chiefest  Apostles,  were  vSent  down  from  Jerusalem 
to  confirm  them  and  convey  the  Gift  of  the  Spirit. 
ft  is  quite  true  that  often  in  Apostolic  times  the  ex- 
traordinary graces  were  conveyed  as  well  as  the 
ordinary, t  but  this  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
always  the  case  even  in  those  days.  For  wSt.  Paul 
asked  certain  who  were  regarded  as  disciples  *'  if 
they  had  received  the  Holy  Ghost  since  they  be- 
lieved." Had  there  been  at  all  times  a.  bestowal  of 
extraordinary  graces,  the  question  need  not  have 
been  asked  ;  the  Presence  would  have  been  mani- 
fested, and  the  lack  of  manifestation  would  have 
testified  to  lack  of  the  Gift.  Confirmation,  then,  is 
the  one  especial  rite  whereby  the  Gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  promise  of  the  Father,  the  indwelling  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  is  communicated  to  the  Baptized 
Christian.:};     Ordinarily,  the   reconciliation  between 


1  /. 


*  "  The  Seven  Gifts,"  p.  87.    See  Appendix  MM. 

f  See  Appendix  LL.  |  See  Appendix  MM. 


THE   GIFT   OF   TFIK    IIOIA'   C'.IIOST. 


201 


the  individual  and  Aliiiij^hty  God  is  granted  in  IJap- 
tism,  in  and  by  that  sacrament  union  with  Christ  is 
effected  before  the  coniniunication  of  the  Gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  In  one  instance  was  it  otlierwise,  l)ut 
for  this  there  was  a  special  reason.  To  prove  that 
it  was  God's  will  that  the  Gentiles  should  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  Ciuirch.  the  Gift  was  bestowed  on 
the  centurion  Cornelius  and  his  friends  before  Bap- 
tism. But  ordinarily,  just  as  the  Holy  (ihost  was 
not  given  before  that  Jesus  was  glorified  in  the  rec- 
onciliation of  man  with  God,  so  also  the  Gift  is  not 
given  to  any  particular  man  before  he  is  prej)ared 
for  it  by  Baptism. 

Next  in  the  Holy  Eucharist  it  is  the  Holy  Ghost 
that  causes  the  dead  elements  to  be  instinct  with 
life  and  life-giving  properties,  conveying  to  the  faith- 
ful Christian  the  Body  and  Blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
In  the  Eastern  Church  this  is  felt  so  strongly  that, 
in  the  Consecration  prayer,  there  is  always  a  distinct 
invocation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  prayer  for  His  de- 
scent upon  the  elements  of  Bread  and  Wine,  to  make 
them  the  Body  and  Blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus.*  You, 
here,  are  happy  in  having  such  an  Invocation,  though 
brief,  in  your  book  ;  there  is  no  need  here  to  excuse 
its  absence.  In  the  earliest  English  Prayer- Book 
there  was  a  special  Invocation  which  is  now  omitted. 
But  there  is  no  trace  of  any  such  in  the  ancient  litur- 
gies of  Italy,  whether  of  Milan  or  Rome,  and  no 
fault  was  charged  against  them  in  early  times.  But 
whether  this  Invocation  be  present  or  not,  all  are 
agreed  that  it  is  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost 


See  Appendix  NN. 


VT 


I 

f. 


; 


't 


'M^ 


I  i' 


m 


1 1 


ill    >W: 


202 


TFIK   CHIT   OF  TMK    IIOI.Y   GHOST. 


that  the  Sacrament  of  the  Holy  luicharist  is  com- 
plete. 

Here,  a<j^ain,  then,  just  as  it  was  by  the  operation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  the  Incarnation  took  place, 
so  by  the  operation  of  the  same  Spirit  the  Incarna- 
tion is  continually  extended  to  the  individual  mem. 
hers  of  the  Church,  by  means  of  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  IJody  and  Blood,  whereby  their  union 
with  Christ  is  maintained  and  His  Likeness  in  them 
developed. 

The  like  mUvSt  be  acknowledj^ed  of  all  the  means 
of  ^race  whereby  the  life  of  the  Church  is  maintained, 
and  the  Church  j^rovvs,  "and  the  hills  are  covered 
with  the  shadow  of  it,  and  the  boughs  thereof  are 
like  the  j^oodly  cedar-trees,  whereby  she  stretches 
out  her  branches  unto  the  sea  (of  the  world)  and  her 
bouj^hs  unto  the  river  (of  the  water  of  Life)." 
Whereby  also  each  individual  member  gradually 
ceases  to  be  a  "  babe  in  Christ,"  and  increases  and 
grows  up  "  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of 
the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ."  Whereby  the 
individual  life  gradually  extends  itself  into  the  cor- 
po-'ate  life  of  the  whole  Body  of  the  Church,  so  that 
we,  "  speaking  the  Truth  in  love,  may  grow  up  into 
Him  in  all  things,  which  is  the  Head,  even  Christ, 
from  Whom  the  whole  Body  fitly  joined  together 
and  compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  supplieth, 
according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the  measure  of 
every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the  Body  unto  the 
edifying  of  itself  in  love."  * 

Therefore,   when  the  ministers   and  stewards  of 

*  Ephesians  4  :  12,  16. 


THK    CUT   OK    TIIK    IIOI.V    (illOST. 


20}, 


Christ's  mysteries  arc  ordained,  consecrated,  and 
set  apart  for  their  work,  \vc  say,  "  Receive  tlie  Holy 
(f  host  for  the  office  and  work  of  a  Priest  or  a  liishop 
in  the  Church  of  (Jod."  Some,  indeed,  have  raised 
a  superficial  objection  to  the  /or>/i  of  words,  but  at 
tlic  same  time  suj^^jj^ested  a  prayer,*  "  I 'our  (h)wn, 
()  Father  of  Lij^hts,  tlie  Holy  Cihost  on  tliis  Thy  ser- 
vant," which  is  only  a  variation  of  /orw  and  not  of 
substance.  It  is  true  that  in  your  Ordinal,  brethren, 
an  alternative  form  is  jj^iven  in  the  ordination  of  a 
I'riest,  but  not  of  a  Hishoj),  so  that  there  can  be  no 
valid  objection  to  the  form  of  words.  I'Or  if  the 
form  be  wroni^,  it  cannot  be  rij^iit  to  use  it  once. 

In  every  branch  and  part  of  the  Christian  life  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  Source  of  stren^^th  and  action. 
But  His  j^race  is  not  irresistil)le  ;  St.  l?aul  knew  this 
when  he  intimated  that  it  was  possible  to  receive  the 
g-race  of  God  in  vain.  We  must  know  it  alas  !  too 
well  in  our  consciences,  when  we  feel  "  that  it  is  hard 
to  kick  ai^ainst  the  pricks." 

But  we  must  be  one  with  Christ,  in  Christ  ;  His 
life  must  be  our  Life,  before  His  work  avails  for  us. 
True,  "  in  Mis  own  Person,  He  fulfilled  the  Will  of 
God.  True,  in  His  ow^n  Person  lie  fulfilled  the 
destiny  of  man.  And  whosoever  is  in  I  lim  shares 
the  virtue  of  His  life."  f  He  is  the  "  head  of  every 
man,"  as  the  Second  and  last  Adam.  He  suffered 
as  our  Representative,  He  is  glorified  as  our  Repre- 
sentative.     But  there  is  a  subjective  side— there  must 


*  The  commissioners  of  Wi!liam  III.,  in  1689.  On  this  question  see 
ihe  admirable  treatise  of  my  friend.  Canon  Churton,  "  Defence  of  the 
English  Ordinal,"  London,  1872. 

f  Westcou,  "  Historic  Faith,"  p.  132. 


204 


THE   GIFT   OF  THE   HOLY   GHOST. 


P: 


■■^.li'i 


■■ift; 


'J  ' 


i-    I 


■■I'  'Ml 


II '  ;i 


till 


be  a  likeness  to  Him  wrou<^ht  out  in  our  cold  and 
hard  marble  nature.  "  Even  the  Passion  of  Christ 
is  in  vain  until  we  have  part  in  it,  until  the  shadow 
of  His  Aij^ony  creeps  over  our  Soul,  until  our  old 
man  is  crucified  with  Him,  and  from  tlie  ashes  of 
our  dead  selves  there  rises  the  new  man  which  after 
Christ  is  created  in  Righteousness  and  true  holi- 
ness." * 

By  Christ  are  we  redeemed,  by  the  Holy  Spirit  are 
we  j^radually  sanctified.  "  The  righteousness  where- 
by here  we  are  justified  is  perfect,  but  not  inherent ; 
that  whereby  we  are  sanctified  is  inherent,  but  not 
perfect. ' '  f  We  must  yield  ourselves  to  the  gracious 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  He  may  produce 
in  us  **  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit."  But  fruit  implies 
the  co-operation  of  tzuo.  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  re- 
quires the  co-operation  of  the  man,  the  Christian 
man  himself.  That  he  may  "  have  his  fruit  unto 
holiness,"  he  must  give  his  own  earnest  and  diligent 
co-operation.  "  The  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  Which  is  given  unto  us,"  that  we 
may  work,  not  from  fear  of  punishment,  but  from 
the  love  of  righteousness  ;  biit  the  source  of  it  all, 
and  of  the  "  imitation  of  Christ,"  to  which  it  all  tends, 
is  the  Holy  Ghost  Himself  indwelling  in  the  man. 

In  the  New  Creation  He  gradually  prepares  the 
elect,  the  members  of  Christ  in  this  world,  by  pro- 
gressive sanctification,  for  the  "  glorifying  righteous- 
ness, perfect  and  inherent,  in  the  world  to  come.  ":|: 

Thus  we  draw  to  an  end.     We  have  been  admitted 


*  Lias,  "  The  Atonement,"  p.  63. 
f  Hooker,  Sermon  IL,  i^  3. 


I  See  Appendix  OO. 


THE   (;iFT  OF  THE    IIOLV   GHOST. 


205 


to  speak  of  the  jrlorious  circle  of  love  1  m\  mercy, 
proceeding  from   God   and   rcturnin^ir  to  Ciod,  em- 
bracinir  the  creature  in  its  unceasinir'  flow  of  infinite 
condescension.     The  eternal  jnirpose  of  the  Creator 
to  unite  to  Himself  the  creature   in  an    infiniiy  of 
ever-growinnr  and  developinjr  blessedness,  could  not 
be  frustrated  by  the  rebellious  caprice  of  the  crea- 
ture.     True,  the  rebellion  called   forth  a   new  phase 
of  mercy  to  meet  and  overcome  the   wroni;  done  ; 
but  the  eternal  purpose  could  not  be  thwarted.     The 
intimate  union  of  the  Fncarnation  took  place,  blessinjr 
the  creature   with  infinite  possibilities,  and  the  Crem- 
ator not  only  was  made  flesh,  but  throu.jrh  the  Eter- 
nal Spirit  offered  Himself  without  S|.ot  to  G(.d  on 
our  behalf.     Then,  in  order  that  His  Presence  should 
not  be  limited  to  one  spot,  and  to  the  friendship  of  a 
few,  it  was  expedient  that  He  should  depart  as  .\ran, 
and  that  flis  Universal  Presence  should   be  effected 
by   the   Holy   Spirit.     When,    therefore,   jesus   was 
j^lorified  and  man   was  reconciled  to  God,  "  bein«r 
by  the  Rij^ht  Hand  of  God  exalted,  and   havin<r  rc"- 
ceived  the   Promise  of  the  Father,  He  shed   forth" 
His  Spirit  on   His  Church  and  on  the  several  mem- 
bers of  it.      He  was  to  apply  and  perfect  the  work 
which  the  Son  had  done.      Me  was  to  iruide  them,  not 
drive  or  force   them,  but  to  guide  them,  recpiiring 
action,    williuir  action,  on  their  part,  into   truth  of 
every  kind.     He  was  to  woik  out  in  them  the  image 
of  the  C.eator  once  more,  in   which  man  had  been 
formed  at  the  first,  and   prepare  them  to  see   their 
Saviour  and  their  God  as  He  is. 

By  the  c  )ming  of  the   Holy   Ghost,  Good  Lord, 
deliver  us. 


i 


2o6 


THE   GIFT   OF  THE   HOLY   ('.HOST. 


i  m 


« j  f  I 


'(ii 


How  marvellously  does  the  Truth  open  out  before 
us  as  we  nieditrite.  The  faithful  Christian  claims  all 
Truth  of  every  kind,  everywhere,  as  part  of  the 
revelation  of  Him  Who  is  the  Truth.  He  has  no 
fear  of  scientific  discoveries,  he  kno\vs  that  if  they 
are  true,  they  must  be  part  of  God's  Truth,  and  that 
if  he  is  patient,  he  will  know  them  to  be  so  in  time. 
For  it  has  been  well  said,  rather  in  the  mind  of  St. 
Vincent  of  Lerins,  as  already  quoted  :  "In  this  sense 
the  Christian  Revelation  of  God  claims  to  be  both 
final  and  progressive  ;  final,  for  Christians  know  but 
one  Christ  and  do  not  look  for  another  ;  progressive, 
because  Christianity  claims  each  new  truth  as  enrich- 
ing our  knowledge  of  God  and  bringing  out  into 
greater  clearness  and  distinctness  some  half-under- 
stood fragment  of  its  own  teaching."  " 

Here,  then,  we  must  stop,  conscious  of  utter  in- 
efficiency in  attempting  to  touch,  as  on  the  hem  of 
the  garment,  the  grandest  theme  for  the  adoring 
love  of  man  to  contemplate.  God  grant  that  not 
one  word  ma}'^  have  been  said  contrary  to,  or  at 
variance  with,  His  Truth.  It  there  has  been  any 
such  may  the  Holy  Spirit  overrule  it  f(^r  good. 
Where  there  has  been  error,  may  it  be  corrected  ; 
where  there  is  deficiency,  may  it  be  supplied.  And 
may  the  good  Lord  pardon  the  presumption  of  His 
servant  in  attempting  to  handle  so  wondrous  a  mys- 
tery. 


*  Aubrey  Moore.    See  also  "  Science  and  the  Failh,"  p.  167. 


APPENDIX. 


A.     PAGE  2. 

Gilbertus  Grimand  in  Liturgia  Sac.  par,  3  c.  17,  mult-i  congeiii 
monumenta,  quibus  ostendit  quanta'olim  esset  fidelium  devotio  erga 
Evangelium  In  Principio.  In  aliquibus  enim  ecclesiis  olim  legebatur 
post  baptismum  parvulorum.  post  viaticum,  et  post  Extremani  I'nc- 
tionem  (.V.  Benedicti,  XIV.  De  Sacrosancto,  Missa;  Sacrificio,  Lib. 
II.  cap.  x.xiv.,  §  8). 

II  est  une  autre  raison  qui  n'a  pas  peu  contribuO  a  introduire  dans 
le  rit  de  la  messe,  l'6vangile  selon  Saint  Jean,  c'est  la  devotion  que 
le  peuple  professait  pour  cet  6vangile.  Lorsque  le  pretre  desccn- 
dait  de  'autel  on  voyait  plusieurs  personnes  s'approcher  du  sanctu- 
aire  et  prier  le  celebrant  de  lire  sur  elles  ce  magnifique  dC-but  de 
I'evangeliste  ;  ie  pretre  mettait  le  boutde  I'ttole  sur  leurs  tetes,  et  11- 
sait  cet  evangilc.  L'affluence  etait  quelquefois  assez  considerable  pour 
qu'il  ne  fut  pas  possible  de  se  rendre  aux  desirs  de  ces  personnes 
pieuses  d'une  maniere  individuelle  ;  alors  le  pretre  recitait  colleciive- 
ment  I'evangile  pour  tous  les  postulants,  et  se  tenait  a  Tautei 
{I'AbbcMiirneEncyclopedie    Tluologique,  ?..\.    "  Kvangile,"  p.   571). 

I  am  indebted  for  the  above  references  to  my  kind  friend  Rev. 
Canon  W.  Cooke  of  Chester.  See  also  Le  Brun,  Explication  de  la 
Messe,  Paris,  1726,  Tom.  i.,  p.  6S7. 


APPENDIX  B.     PAGE  4. 

The  Harmonia  Confessionum  Fidei,  published  at  Geneva  in  15S1, 
begins  with  a  section  "  De  Scriptura  Sancta,  ejusque  intcrpretatione." 
The  translation  of  the  Harmony  printed  at  Cambridge  in  15S6  begins 
in  the  same  way.  This  is  because  the  majority  of  the  "  Confessions" 
begin  with  this  article.     See  Corpus  Confessionum,  Geneva,  1654. 


im 


II 


208 


APPENDIX. 


li'l 


;i:  ili 


APPENDIX  C.     PAGE  11. 

In  his  very  excellent  lecture  on  "  The  Christian  Doctrine  of  the 
Godhead"  (delivered  in  great  St.  Mary's,  Cambridge,  England,  in  1886, 
and  published  at  Cambridge),  Dr.  Hicks  argues  for  the  Personality 
of  God  in  the  following  manner  (page  5)  : 

"  These  two  notions  of  Infinite  Being  and  of  a  First  Cause  do  not 
by  any  means  complete  the  Theistic  idea.  Nay,  if  taken  by  them- 
selves, they  would  tend,  as  a  great  part  of  human  thought  has  tended, 
rather  to  pantheism  than  to  theism— to  the  belief  in  an  all-pervading 
unconscious  Deity,  immanent  in  all  things,  gradually  moving  on  tow- 
ard perfection,  according  to  necessary  laws  ;  human  lives,  with  their 
sorrows  and  joys,  their  aspirations  and  failures,  being  swept  along,  as 
in  the  current  of  a  mighty  river,  till  they  are  merged  and  lost  in  »•"  '. 
boundless,  fathomless  ocean  of  absolute  impersonal  being. 

"  If  indeed  this  were  so,  that  our  personal  finite  existent.  .  are  to  be 
swallowed  up  in  an  impersonal  infinite  existence,  from  which  they  are 
supposed  to  have  sprung,  two  difficulties  would  have  to  be  met.  In 
the  first  place,  conscious  personal  existence  is  confessedly  a  higher 
thing  than  unconscious  existence,  llow  can  this  noble  attribute  of 
personality  have  been  caused  by  that  which  is  impersonal  ?  And  in 
the  second  place,  if  it  is  true,  as  we  believe,  that  there  has  been  prog- 
ress in  the  world,  that  step  by  step,  according  to  definite  law,  the 
lower  has  led  up  to  the  higher,  till  the  highest  form  of  life  in  the  visi- 
ble universe  has  been  reached  in  man,  are  we  to  believe  that,  after 
all,  this  law  of  progress  is  finally  to  be  replaced  by  a  law  of  degrada- 
tion and  that  all  personal  beings  are  to  be  lost  in  an  abyss  of  absolute 
existence,  which  is  not  distinguishable  in  thought  from  non-existence? 

"  Thus  we  come  to  hail  with  relief  the  further  notion  that  the  First 
Cause  is  a  Personal  Being,  conscious,  intelligent,  free." 


i'm 


APPENDIX   D.     PAGE  13. 

"  The  truth  for  which  they  contended,  which  was  enshrined  in  their 
sacred  vviitings,  was  that  the  '  Father  is  God,  the  Son  is  God.  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  God.  And  yet  they  are  not  three  gods  but  one  God.' 
But  the  Fathers  do  not  treat  this  doctrine  merely  as  a  revealed  mys- 
tery, still  less  as  something  which  complicates  the  simple  teaching  of 
Monotheism,  but  as  the  condition  of  rationally  holding  the  Unity  of 
God.  *  The  Unity  which  derives  the  Trinity  out  of  its  ow^n  self,'  says 
Tertullian  {Adversus  Praxeam,  cap.  iii.)  '  so  far  from  being  destroyed 


ArPENDIX. 


209 


is  actually   supported  by   it.'     'We  cannot  otherwise    think   of  One 
God,'  says  Hippolytus  {Contm  Xoenini,  i  xiv.),  '  but  by  truly  believing 
in  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  (ihost.'    'The  Supreme  and  only  Ciod,'  says 
Lactantius   {/ii^'ti/ii/iones,    \\ .    29)     'cannot    be    worshipped    except 
through  the  Son.    He  who  thinks  that  he  worships  llie  Father  only,  in 
that  he  dors  not  worship  the  Son  also,  does  not  worship  the  Father.' 
'Without   the   Son   the    Father  is   not,'  says    Clement  of  Alexandri;. 
(Sn-oiii.iin,  V.  i),  '  for  in  that  He  is  a  Father,  He  is  the  P\itherof  the  Son, 
and  the  Son  is  the  true  teacher  about  the  Ft.ther.'    So  Origen  argues 
{De  Priiuipiis,  I.  ii.,  g  10)  :      '  If  God  had  ever  existed  alone  in  simple 
unity  and  solitary  grandeur,  apart  from  some  object  upon  which  ftom 
all  eternity   to  pour  forth  His  love.  He  could    not  have  been  always 
God.      His  love,  His  Fatherhood,  His  very  Omnipotence  would   have 
been  added  in  lime,  and  there  would  then  have  been  a  time  when  He 
was  imperfect.      The  Fatherhooil  of  God  must  be  coeval  with  His  Om 
nipotence  ;  for  it  is  through    the  Son   that   the   Father  is  Almightv.' 
This  was  the  line  of  argument  afterward  developed  by  St.  Athanasius 
when  he  contended  against  the  Arians  that  the  Son  was  the  reality  or 
truth  of  the  Father,  without  whom  the  Father  could  not  exist  (.h/rrr- 
xns  Ariiuios,  i.,  i;  20)  ;  and  by  St.  Augustine  when  he  argues  that  love 
implies  one  who  loves  and  one  who  is  loved,  and  love  to  bind  them 
together   {Df    7'riiiHa/e,  viii.    10  and  ix.  2).     Even  one  so  unphilo 
sophically  minded  as   Iren;eus  {Adzu-rsiis  J/„/ysi's,  IV.  iv.  i,  2)  cannot 
but  see  in  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  rehition  of  the  Father  and  the 
Son  the  sotution  of  the  difficulty  about  the  infinity  of  God  :   '  Imnien- 
sus  Pater  in  Filio  mensuratus  ;   mensura  Palris,  Filius. ' 

"  While  philosophy  with  increasing  hopelessness  was  asking.  How 
can  we  have  a  real  unity  which  shall  not  be  a  barren  and  dead  unity, 
but  shall  include  differences  ?  Christi.nnity,  with  its  doctrine  of  (Jod, 
was  arguing  that  that  which  was  an  unsolved  contradiction  for  non- 
Christian  thought  was  a  necessary  corollary  of  the  Christian  Faith" 
(Aubrey  Moore  in  Lux  Mtind',  p.  (_)2). 


APPENDIX   F.     PAGE  16. 

We  must  remember  that  the  beautiful  interpretation  put  by  the  Lat- 
in Fathers  upon  a  very  difficult  saying  of  our  HleSsed  Lord  is  proba- 
bly untenable.  When  the  Jews  ask^^d  Him,  "Who  art  Thou?" 
(St.  John  S  :  25),  His  answer  has  been  explained  by  the  Latin 
Fathers  thus:  "I  am  the  beginning,  which  am  speaking  to  you." 
14 


1: 


111  I 


210 


APPKNUIX. 


Cornelius  a  Lapide  commences  his  note  thus  :  "St.  AiiRiistinc,  Hede 
often,  Rupert,  Hernard,  and  St.  Ambrose  lake  the  word  '  beginning  ' 
to  be  the  nominative  meaning.  1  am  the  beginning."  This  arises 
from  the  fact  that  both  the  words  which  are  u?ed  here  in  the  Latin 
versions  are  neuter,  priiicipium  and  iuiiiicnt,  and  ihougii  the  trans- 
lator might  have  intended  them  as  accusative,  others  ignorant  of  the 
Greek  regarded  them  as  nominative,  which  gives  an  easier  sense. 

The  Greek  Fathers,  to  whom  surely  we  should  look  for  an  explana- 
tion of  a  diflicult  (iieek  construction,  rather  treat  the  sentence  "  as  a 
sad  exclamation,  which  is  half  interrogative,  Why  do  1  so  much 
as  speak  to  you  ?"    (Dr.  VVestcott  in  /oc). 


APPENDIX  F.     PAGE   46  AND    PAGE  61. 

Luthardt  in  note  17  to  Lecture  IIP  cites  a  passage  from  a  letter  of 
Johann  v.  Muller,  in  1782  :  "  Since  I  have  been  in  Cassel  I  have 
been  reading  ancient  authors  in  their  chronological  order,  and  mak- 
ing extracts  from  them  when  any  remarkable  facts  struck  me.  I  do 
not  know  why,  two  months  ago,  I  took  it  into  my  head  to  read  the 
New  Testament,  before  my  studiis  had  advanced  to  the  age  when  it 
was  written.  How  shall  [  describe  to  you  what  I  founrl  therein  I  I 
had  not  read  it  for  many  years,  and  was  prejudiced  against  it  befoie 
I  took  it  in  hand.  The  light  which  struck  Paul  with  blindness  on  his 
way  to  Damascus  was  not  more  strange,  more  surprising  to  him  than 
it  was  to  me  when  I  suddenly  discovered  the  fulfilment  of  all  hopes, 
the  highest  perfection  of  philosophy,  the  explanation  of  all  revolutions, 
the  key  to  all  the  seeming  contradictions  of  the  phjsical  and  moral 
world.  .  .  .  The  whole  world  seemed  ordered  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  furthering  the  religion  of  the  Redeemer,  and  if  this  religion  is  not 
divine,  I  understand  nothing  at  all"  (Translation  published  at  Edin- 
burgh,  1SS8,  p.  354). 


APPENDLX    G.    PAGE  47. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  (Mason's  "  Faiih  of  the  Gospel,"  p.  Si),  that 
the  preposition  iiiay  be  translated  inlo  "  Let  Us  make  man  iii/o  Our 
image  ;"  this  would  imply  "  that>  a  higher  potency  was  conferred  on 
an  already  existing  thing."  Anj'  such  development  of  interpretation 
is  valuable. 

The  Scptuagint,  however,  translate  the  two  prepositions  " »'// Our 


'|i!t' 


\nv,  Hede 
;ginning  ' 
lis  arises 
the  Latin 
the  irans- 
:inl  of  the 
lense. 
-1  explana- 
ice  "  as  a 
so  much 


APPKXDIX. 


21  I 


image,  a//^r  Our  likeness,"  by  the  same  Greek  word  M/ra.  The 
Vulgate  and  Vclus  Itala  combine  the  two  expressions  under  one  prep- 
osition, "(?(/  imaginem  et  similitudinem."  Some  of  the  Latin 
fathers  have  sectindum,  while  St.  Ambrose  once  (de  ofRc'is  Minis- 
trorum.  i,  xxviii.)  has  ad  imaginem  secundum  similitudinem.  See 
Sabatier  in  ior. 

As  the  Septuagint  has  only  one  preposition  it  may  perhaps  be 
open  to  question  whether  the  not  infrequent  confusion  of  //  and  k'  in 
Hebrew  have  not  here  caused  a  variation  of  preposition,  which  did 
not  originally  occur. 


a  letter  of 
isel  I   have 

and  mak- 

me.  I  do 
}  read  the 
ge  when  it 
herein  I  I 
■;t  it  befoie 
less  on  his 
o  him  than 
f  all  hopes, 
evolutions, 

and  moral 
ole  purpose 
gion  is  not 
ed  at  Edin- 


'  p.  Si),  that 
lan  into  Our 
anferred  on 
terpretation 

)ns  "in  Our 


APPEXDLX  H.  PAGE  50. 
The  opening  paragraph  of  the  Essay  is  here  given  : 
"In  attempting  to  speak  of  such  a  mystery  as  the  Gospel  of 
Creation  -that  is,  of  the  promise  of  the  Incarnation  which  was  included 
in  the  Creation  of  man,  it  is  evident  that  we  have  need  of  watchful 
and  reverent  care  lest  we  should  strive  to  go  beyond  the  limits  which 
bound  the  proper  field  of  our  powers.  It  is  necessary  also  that  we 
should  guard  ourselves  against  the  danger  of  using  human  language, 
not  only  (as  we  must  do)  to  represent  as  clearly  as  possible  our  con- 
ceptions of  the  divine,  but  as  the  legitimate  foundation  for  secondary 
conclusions.  If,  however,  we  do  devoutly  recognize  that  in  such  spec- 
ulations we  are  entering  on  holy  ground  ;  if  we  steadily  refuse  to  ad- 
mit deductions  as  absolute  which  are  derived  from  the  conditiims  un- 
der which  we  apprehend  the  Truth  made  known  to  us  ;  then  it  is  well 
for  us  to  look  for  a  time  toward  the  loftiest  heights  and  the  deepest 
foundations  of  faith.  If  we  essay  something  »vithout  '  presumption 
and  in  submission  to  the  judgment  of  the  Church'— to  borrow  words 
spoken  on  the  subject  three  hundred  years  ago— '  and  supported  by 
the  light  of  the  divine  word  give  expression  to  our  thoughts  humbly 
to  the  best  of  our  power  with  stammering  lips,  not  only  do  we  not 
offend  God,  but  we  do  Him  reverence,  and  not  unfrequently  profit  the 
weaker  members  of  the  Church.'" 

We  must  always  welcome  an   investigation   undertaken  in  such  a 
spirit  by  a  man  like  Dr.  Westcott. 


APPENDIX    I.    PAGE  56. 

Some  try  to  raise  a  little  dust  to  hide  the  most  probable  origin  of 
the  error— viz.,  the  wrong  writing  of  one  letter,  by  speaking  of  a  read- 


212 


AP'^F-XDIX. 


■t- 


ing"Ipsunn."  But  this  reading  does  not  occur  in  ancient  days.  The 
only  readings  are  simply  Ipse  and  Ipsa.  When  Cornelius  a  Lapide 
speaks  of  Ipsum  he  merely  wishes  to  point  out  ihat  some  authorities 
use  the  neuter  in  agreement  with  semen.  For  he  cites  St.  Leo  for 
ll)5um,  without  particular  reference  ;  whereas  all  we  can  find  is  a  ref- 
erence to  semen.  "  Denuncians  serpenti  futurum  semen  mulieris, 
(///('(/  no.xii  capitis  elationem  sua  virtute  contererct"  (Serm.  xxi.  in 
Nat.  Dom.  ii.,  Opera  Paris,  1675,  Tom.  i  ,  p.  145).  The  statement  of  the 
Douay  note,  "  others  read  //>su>n,"   seems  to  be  without  foundation. 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  no  reading  Ipstttn  is  found.  It  is  possible 
that  a  scribe  seeing  only  .f^wt'«  and  wz/Z/tv  as  antecedents,  and  not 
knowing  the  Greek  masculme  as  the  authority  for  Ipse,  and  seeing 
that  the  reading  could  not  be  ipsum,  may  have  of  set  purpose  changed 
the  ('  into  un  a,  to  make  better  grammar. 

Dr.  Pusey  ("  First  letter  to  the  Very  Reverend  J.  II.  Newman,  D.D., 
London,  iSCx),  p.  3S2  sq.)  glides  a  long  paragraph  to  the  question  and 
also  gives  the  summing  up  of  the  e.xhaustive  note  of  Dc  Rossi,  the 
very  learned  Roman  Catholic  Orientalist,  which  is  as  follows  :  "  To 
whomsoever,  then,  the  present  reading  of  the  Vulgate  belongs, 
whether  to  the  interpreter  or  (which  is  more  probable)  to  the 
amanuensis,  it  ought  to  be  amended  from  the  Hebrew  and  Greek 
fountain-heads,  and  to  be  referred  to  those  passages  of  the  Clementine 
Etlition  which  yet  can  and  ought  to  be  conformed  to  the  Hebrew 
te,\t,  and  to  be  amended  by  the  authority  of  the  Church." 


i   I 


i 


APPENDIX    K.    PAGE  87. 

It  is  worth  while  to  note  the  effect  produced  on  the  Eastern  mind 
by  the  various  symptoms  to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  the  text 
of  Lecture  IV.,  on  the  question  of  Mirth.  The  writer,  P.  C. 
Mozoonmar,  is  an  Oriental,  a  friend  of  Keshub-Chunder  Sen  ;  but  the 
book  is  well  worth  reading  though  the  writer  is  outside  the  Christian 
fold,  "  feeling  after  Christ,  if  haply  he  may  find  Him."  He 
acknowledges  that  the  fasting  of  our  Blessed  Lord  was  more  in  ac- 
cordance with  Eastern  asceticism  than  His  feasting  ;  but  he  adds  : 
'While  the  brief  day  of  mutual  union  lasted,  He  grudged  not  His 
disciples  a  few  intervals  of  freedom  and  mirth.  .  .  ,  Christ  would 
not  be  coextensive  with  human  nature,  if  He  did  not  combine  fasts  and 
feasts  in  that  many-sided  discipline  which  gives  perfection  to  the  diverse 
faculties  of  man's  heart  ("  Oriental  Christ,"  Boston,  18SS,  p.  169). 


i    i 


ArrKNDix. 


213 


APPENDIX  L.     PAGE  S8. 

In  Archdeacon  Wilberforce's  "Doctrine  of  the  Incarnation"  there- 
is  a  loriR  passage  devoted  to  this  ciucstion  of  our  Lord's  sympathy  in 
our  ignorance.  Toward  the  end  he  writes  :  "Since  it  would  be  im- 
pious to  suppose  that  our  Lord  had  pretended  an  ignorance  which  He 
did  not  experience,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  what  He  partook 
as  man  was  not  actual  ignorance,  but  such  deficiency  in  the  means  of 
arriving  at  Truth  as  belongs  to  mankind.  Without  asserting  th;it 
the  man  Christ  Jesus  was  ignorant,  it  may  be  said  that  he  was  igno- 
rant, as  man,  of  that  which  by  His  other  nature  was  known  to  Him. 
His  growth,  then,  was  no  delusion,  but  a  real  one  ;  but  the  advance 
was  in  those  means  of  intercourse  by  which  the  human  mind  com- 
municates with  the  e.xternal  w<jrld.  He  made  trial  of  those  channels 
of  communication  whereby  the  children  of  men  are  furnished  wiih 
knowledge;  He  tested  their  uncertainty;  He  is  able  to  pity  those 
who  are  in  like  manner  "compassed  with  infirmity"  (Chapter  IV.. 
fourth  edition,  1S52,  p.  84). 


APPENDIX  M.     PAGE  S,). 

*'  Chiist's  tenderness  was  like  that  of  the  woman.  His  courage  and 
strength  were  like  those  of  the  hero.  His  holiness  has  set  the  standard 
of  all  human  morality  and  pureness  of  motive.  His  trustfulness  was 
that  of  the  child."     ("  The  Oriental  Christ,"  Mozoomdar,  p.  13S.) 


APPENDIX  N.     PAGE  90. 

"The  strong  and  fierce  language  used  on  occasions  by  Him  who  is 
fitly  known  as  the  Lamb  of  God  is  a  difficulty  to  the  mind  of  the 
'  mild  Hindu'  "  ("  Oriental  Christ"  p.  98).  It  is  deeply  interesting  to 
read  these  words  of  one  who  has  thoroughly  appreciated  and  approved 
the  denunciation  of  hypocrisy  uttered  by  our  Lord.  There  is  very 
much  in  this  book  of  deepest  interest,  showing  full  sympathy  with  the 
universal  perfection  of  our  Lord's  character  ;  so  much  so  that  we 
feel  inclined  to  say,  as  Bossuet  did  of  Hishop  Bull,  "  Talis  cum  sis, 
v.tinam  noster  esses."  The  following  is  very  striking:  "The  testi- 
mony of  His  life  and  death  makes  heavenly  realit'es  tenfold  more  real 
to  us.  His  patience  and  meekness  in  suffering  are  like  an  everlasting 
rock,  which  we  may  hold  by  when  tossed  in  the  tempest  of  life.     His 


m 


i 


t 


'111 


Ki 


i    ;     i 


'     ■■■  ■■ 


:h 


ml'  ■  I 


214 


Al'I'KNDIX. 


poverty  has  sanctified  the  home  of  the  poor.  His  love  of  healing 
fills  the  earth  with  innumerable  works  of  benevolence  and  sympathy, 
an.i  fills  with  womierful  hope  the  bedside  of  the  sick  and  dying.  His 
death  and  resurrection  call  us  to  the  mansions  where  He  has  gone  to 
wait  for  us"  ("  Oriental  Christ,"  p.  45). 


APPENDIX  O.     PAGE  95. 

There  is  a  most  excellent  note  on  Romans  9  :  5  in  the  Speaker's 
Commentary  by  Archdeacon  (iifford,  who  says:  "The  reference 
to  Christ  is  supported  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  tha  Anti-Nicene 
lathers.  .  .  .  Against  this  remarkable  consent  of  Christian  antifjuity 
there  is  nothing  to  be  said  of  any  weight.  Cyril  puts  into  the  mouth 
of  the  Emperor  Julian  a  denial  of  the  reference  to  Christ  only  in 
order  to  atfirm  the  true  interpretation."  Yet  the  error  of  the  apostate 
is  admitted  into  the  margin  as  a  possible  interpretation.  No  wonder 
that  the  New  Revised  Vefsion  has  been  stigmatized  as  "The  Atian- 
i/ed  Version." 


APPENDIX  P.     P\GE  97. 

The  following  is  a  table  of  the  comparative  fulness  of  the  Narrative 
of  each  of  the  four  Evangelists,  in  various  stages  of  the  Lord's  life. 
It  is  perhaps  not  exactly  accurate  to  small  fractions,  but  it  affords  a 
sufficient  approximation  for  comparison.  As  St.  Luke's  account  is 
the  longest,  it  is  taken  as  the  standard  : 


St. 

Luke         —  100 

St. 

Matthew  =    93 

St. 

John          -    73 

St. 

Mark         =    59 

making  in  all  325  divisions. 

I.  Early  Years  of  our  Lord's  Life  till  His  Baptism^  .;',-. 
St.  Matthew,  5.     St.  Mark,  o.     St.   Luke,  10.5.     St.  John,  o. 
II.   From  the  Baptism  until  the  Passover  in  St.  John  6  :  i  (less  than  i^). 
St.  Matthew,  38.     St.  Mark,  20.     St.  Luke,  27.5.     St.  John,  16.5. 

III.  From    St.   John  6  :  i   ////  Feast    of    Tabernacles    St.  John    7, 
(about  V,i). 

St.  Matthew,  11.     St.  Mark,  13.     St.  Luke,  4.     St.  John,  C. 

IV.  From  Feast  of  Tahernaeles  till  Palm  Sunday  (about  {). 


ArPKNDIX. 


215 


St.  Matthew,  6.     St,  Mark,  3.5.     St.  Luke,  35.      St.  John,  i.}.5. 

V.  From  I'alin  Smtd'iy  to  Maundy  Thursday  (about  i). 

St.  Mitihew,  20.5,     St.  Mirk,  11.5.     St.  Luke.  8.5.     St.  John,   3. 

VL  From  Maundy  Thur^lay  until  I'.aster  Eve  [x-Ji\.\wx  more  than  |). 

St.  Miilhevv.  10.  St.  >Lirk,  S.5.  St.  Luke.  (^.5.  St.  John,  21.5. 
VI L      The  Rosurn-ctioii  (-,'„). 

St.  Matthevv,  2.5.     St.  Mark,  2.5.     St.  Luke,  5.     !^'.  John,  6.5. 


I 


APPENDIX  O.     PAGE  100. 

In  the  lately  recovered  "  Teach  in}.,'  of  the  Twelve  Apostles"  th'fe 
is  a  p.issaRe  which  see.ns  to  regard  the  sign  of  the  Cross  as  \w\\\\<,  the 
"Sign  of  the  Son  of  Mm"  spoken  of  in  St.  Matthew  24  :  30  ?s 
one  of  the  signs  of  the  clay  of  judgment.  Speaking  of  the  signs  of 
the  last  day,  "The  Teaching"  says;  "And  then  shall  appear 
the  signs  of  the  truth  :  first,  the  si,^n  of  stretching  out  in  heaven  ; 
then  the  sign  of  the  voice  of  the  trumpet  ;  and  the  third,  the  Resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead."  The  word  used  for  stretthing  out  is  the  noun  de- 
rived from  the  verb  in  Romans  10  :  21,  which  is  acjuotalion  from  Isaiah 
65  :  2  :  "  All  day  long  have  I  stutched  out  my  hands  to  a  disobedient 
and  a  gainsaying  people."  In  the  F.pistle  of  Barnabas,  said  to  be 
nearly  contemporaneous  with  "The  Teaching,"  the  passage  is  ex- 
plained of  the  Cross.  This  seems  to  show  that  "  the  sign  of  stretch- 
ing out"  is  meant  to  be  "  the  sign  of  the  Cross,"  spoken  of  in  a  man- 
ner which  would  be  understood  by  Christians  and  none  else. 


APPENDIX  R.     PAGE  105. 

The  passage  is  referred  to  by  Archdeacon  Gifford,  and  is  to  be 
found  among  the  fragments  of  the  third  bjok  De  Republica,  III., 
xxii.,  ?;  16,  ed.  Nobbe,  Lipsiaj,  TS27,  p.  Ii6t:  "Est  quidem  vera 
lex  recta  ratio,  naturae  congruens,  diffusa  in  omnes,  constans, 
sempiterna,  qure  vocet  ad  offi'ium  jubendo,  vetando  a  fraude  deterreat, 
q  la;  tamen  necjue  probos  fruslra  jubet  aut  vetat,  nee  improbos 
juben  io  aut  vetando  movet.  .  .  .  Nee  erit  alia  lex  Rom:e,  a'ia 
Athenis  ;  alia  nunc,  alia  posthac  ;  sed  et  omnes  gentes,  et  ouitii  tem- 
pore, una  lex  et  sempitern  1,  et  immutabilis  conlinebit,  unusque  erit 
ccm  nunis  quasi  magisterel  Imperator  omnium  Deus.     llle  legis  hujus 


2l6 


Ari'KNDIX. 


iiivcDlnr,  dij-reptalor,  lator  ;  cui  (jui  n«)H  [)arfl)it,  ipse  sc  fii;:ict,  ac, 
iiatiirdMi  hoiiiinis  aspcrnatus  hoc  ipso  luul  maxitnas  poenas,  cliain  si 
calcra  supplicia,  <iu:l'  putanlur,  tCfiifjeiil." 


APPENDIX    S.     PACir:   113. 

"  It  is  deeply  intereslinR  to  observe  that  the  Mishna  ordaiiud  that 
on  the  day  of  killin^j  the  Passover,  if  that  day  was  also  a  Friday,  the 
daily  siacrifice  was  to  be  killed  half  an  hour  after  the  si \t/i  hour,  sac- 
rificed after  the  scvi'iith  ;  and  the  Passover  killed  half  an  hour  after 
the  eighth,  and  sacrificed  half  an  hour  after  the ///;///<  hour.  If  tiiis 
may  be  relied  on,  the  ciarkness  from  the  sixth  to  the  ninth  must  have 
utterly  precluded  the  offering  of  both  sacrifices.  Thus  did  the  true 
Continual  Offering  and  Paschal  Lamb  cause  the  Mosaic  to  cease  on 
that  wondrous  day,  Dan.  (j  :  27"  (Freeman,  "  Principles  of  Divine 
Service,"  Part  II.,  p.  299,  note).  The  reference  to  the  Mishna  is 
Pesiuhiiit,  cap.  v.,  ii  1.  Translation  by  De  Sola  and  Raphall,  Lon 
don,  1S45,  p.  107  :  Ed.  Surenhusius,  Tom.  ii.,  p.  150. 


i 


ill! 


APPKNDIX   T.     PAGE    113. 

"  If  we  go  back  to  the  really  early  fathers,  we  find  them  with  one 
voice  affirming  that  the  Last  Supper  was  not  a  Paschal  meal  at  ail, 
and  soTfie  of  them  complaining  of  the  novel  opinion,  which  introduced 
discrepancies  into  the  plain  and  easy  narrative  of  the  Gosptls.  Let 
us  go  seriatim  through  the  primitive  evidence  which  is  collected  by 
the  anonymous  Byzantine  writer  of  the  CInonicon  PascJuxlc,  from 
works  of  which  little  save  the  name  has  come  down  to  us. 

"  Hippolytus  of  Portus,  near  Rome,  in  his  book  against  all  heresies, 
writes  as  follows  :  '  I  see  the  matter  is  one  of  dispulaliousness.  For 
he  [/.('.,  the  (Juartodeciniar.  of  whom  he  is  speaking]  says  thus  :  The 
Lord  performed  the  passove,;  on  this  d\y  and  suffered  ;  wherefore  I 
also  ought  to  do  as  the  Lord  did.  But  he  is  astray,  not  under- 
standing that  when  the  Lord  suffered  He  did  not  eat  the  legal  pass- 
over.  For  He  was  the  Passover  that  was  proclaimed  beforehand, 
and  that  was  perfected  on  the  appointed  day.' 

"  Again,  in  the  fiist  book  of  his  lost  treatise  on  the  Passover.  Hip- 
polytus says  :  '  Neither  in  the  first  nor  in  the  last  is  it  manifest  that 
he  has  not  spoken  wrongly,  because  He  who  of  old  said  beforehand. 


AI'I'KNDIX. 


21 


"  I  sliall  no  more  eat  the  Passover,"  probably  supped  tlic  Supper 
before  the  I'assover  ;  but  the  Passover  He  ate  ;/('/,  l)Ht  suffered  ;  for 
neither  was  it  the  time  of  the  ealin^j  thereof.' 

"The  next  witness  is  ApoUinarius  of  Ilierapolis,  tlie  town  men 
lioned  by  St.  Paul  in  his  Kpisile  to  the  Colossians  aiotiK  with 
Laodicca.  His  date  is  usually  i;iven  a.d.  170  and  onward.  His 
words  are  :  '  Some  people  dispute  about  these  things,  suffering  a 
pardonable  ailment,  for  ignorance  does  not  reciuire  accusation,  but 
needs  instruction.  And  they  say  that  on  the  14th  the  Lord  ate 
the  sheep  with  His  disciples,  and  suffered  on  the  ^reat  day  of  unleav- 
ened bteail,  and  declare  llut  Matthew  says  as  ihcy  opine  ;  whence 
their  opinion  is  both  discrr pant  from  the  law,  and,  accordi?)g  to  them, 
the  Gospels  seem  to  be  at  variance.' 

"  Last  comes  Cb^ment  of  Alexandria,  whose  lanpuaije  is  equally 
plain.  In  his  lost  treatise  on  the  Passover  he  says  :  '  In  the  past 
years  the  Lord  used  to  observe  the  festival  of  and  eat  the  Passover 
that  was  sacrificed  by  the  Jews  ;  but  when  He  had  preached  beini.j 
Himself  the  Passover,  the  Lamb  of  God,  led  as  a  sheep  to  the 
slaughter,  He  immediately  taught  His  disciples  the  mystery  of  the 
type  on  the  13th,  on  which  they  ask  him,  "  Where  wilt  Thou  that 
we  prepare  the  Passover  for  Thee  to  eat?"  On  this  day,  there- 
fore, both  the  sanctificalion  of  the  unleavened  bread  anfi  the  previous 
preparation  of  the  feast  used  to  take  place  ;  whence  probalily 
John  writes  that  on  this  day  the  Disciples,  as  undergoing  previous 
preparation,  had  their  feet  washed  by  the  Lord.  lUit  our  Saviour 
suffered  on  the  next  day,  being  Himself  the  Passover,  being  sacrificed 
by  the  Jews.' 

*'  And  again  :  '  Consequently  on  the  14th,  when  he  suffered,  the 
chief  priests  and  scribes,  on  leading  Him  in  the  morning  to  Pilate, 
did  not  enter  into  the  pr.nctorium  that  they  ;Tiight  not  be  polluted,  but 
might  eat  the  Passover  without  hindrance  in  the  evening.'  With  this 
exact  account  of  the  days  both  all  the  Scriptures  agree  and  the  ( lospels 
are  in  harmony.  And  the  resurrection  bears  additional  testimony. 
At  any  rale.  He  rose  on  the  third  day,  which  was  the  first  day  of  the 
week  of  the  harvest,  on  which  it  was  the  law  that  the  priest  should 
ofYer  the  sheaf."  ("  Notes  and  Dissertations,"  l)y  A.  H.  Wratislaw, 
London,  1^63,  p.  179.) 

This  extract  gives  the  earliest  testimony  with  which  Ircna-us  (iv., 
23).  Tertullian  (.Adv.  Jud.xos,  10)  and  Justin  Martyr  (Dial.  c.  Try., 
Pars.  II.,  ^  III,  p.  33S)  agree.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth 
century  trustworthy  tradition  (on  these  smaller  points)  had  died  out, 


IP'l 

Hll 


if'!'!. 


■  tifl 


>/'1h 


I 


I 


t'    li 


:*^-l 


lit 


j;-f|iril 


218 


Ai'PKNDIX. 


and  the  modern  popular  view  that  our  Lord  did  partake  of  the  Paschal 
-Supper  took  its  rise. 

See  Freeman,  ''  Principles  of  Divine  Service,"  Part  II.,  Chapter  II  , 
J;  2  ;  also  Bishop  I:^llicott,  "  Historical  Lectures  on  the  Life  of  Our 
Lord,"  Lecture  VII.,  3d  cd.,  1S62,  Lomlon,  p.  321. 

A  summary  of  many  points  of  the  arj^ument  may  also  be  found  in 
my  book  on  "  Fasting  Communion,"  2d  ed.,  p.  341  set}. 


APPENDIX   V.     PAGE    113. 

"  (Daniel)  speaks  not  of  a  temporary  suspension  of  sacrifices,  but 
of  the  entire  aboliiion  of  all  which  had  been  offered  hitherto  :  the 
sacrifice  vviih  the  shedding  of  blood  and  the  oblation,  the  unbloody 
sacrifice  wiiich  was  its  complement.  Those  the  Messiah  was  to  make 
to  cease  three  years  and  a  half  after  that  new  covenant  began,  whether 
this  was  at  first  through  the  ministry  of  the  Baptist  or  His  own.  It 
seems  to  me  absolutely  certain  that  our  Lord's  ministry  lasted  for 
some  period  above  three  years"  (Pusey  on  Daniel,  p.  174). 

See  also  the  very  valuable  treatise,  "  The  Evidential  Value  of  the 
Holy  Eucharist,"  by  Rev.  G.  F.  Maclear,  D.  D  ,  2d  ed..  S  P.C.K., 
Parr  L,  Chapter  I. 


APPENDIX    W.     PAGE    114. 

The  following  volumes  will  be  found  useful  in  the  study  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  Atonement  : 

**  The  Catholic  Doctrine  of  the  Atonement,"  by  H.  N.  Oxenham, 
M.A.,  2tl  ed  ,  London,  18(19.  This  is  mainly  historical,  and  thcrtfote 
is  valuable. 

"The  Atonement,"  the  Congregational  Union  Lectures  for  1S75, 
by  R.  W.  Dale,  M.A.,  nth  ed.,  London,  iSSS.  This  is  an  *  locjuent 
and  valuable  series  of  lectures. 

"  The  Atonement,"  the  Hulsean  Lectures  for  1883-84,  by  Rev. 
J.  J.  Lias,  NLA.,  2d  ed.,  London,  18S8.  Four  lectures  of  most  con- 
densed matter,  and  very  useful  for  those  who  do  not  desire  a  long 
treatise.  The  subjects  of  the  four  lectures  are  :  L  Popular  '!  heology 
and  Popular  Objections.  II.  Scripture  'leaching  Ri'gardiiig  Pro- 
pitiation. III.  Theories  of  Propitiation  in  ine  Christian  Church. 
IV.  The  Various  Aspects  of  Propitiation. 


APPENDIX. 


219 


APPEN'DIX    X.     PAGE    121. 

Bishop   Pearson  (on  Creed,  Article  X.,  10.  page  364)  writes  :   "  In 
vain  it  is  objected  that  the  Scripture  saith  that  our  Saviour  reconciled 
men  to  God,  but  nowhere  tcachcth  that  He  reconciled  God  to  man  ; 
for  in  the  language  of  the  Scripture  to  reconcile  a  man  to  God  is  in 
our  vulgar  language  to  reconcile  God  to  man   -  that  is,   to  cause  him 
who  before  was  angry  and  offended  with  him  to  be  gracious  and   pro- 
pitious  to  him.     As  the   princes  of  thf.   Philistines  spake  of  David. 
'  Wlierevvilh  should  he  reconcile  himself  unto  his  master  ?     Should  it 
not  be  with  the  heads  of  these  men  ?     Wherewith  shall  he  reconcile 
Saul,  who  is  so  highly  offended  with  him  ?     Wherewith  shall  he  render 
him  gracious  and  favorable,  but  by  betraying  these  men  unto  him  ?  ' 
As  our  Saviour  adviseth,  '  If  thou  bring  thy  gift  before  the  altar,  and 
there  rememberest  that  thy  brother  hath  aught  against  thee,  leave  there 
thy  gift  before  the  altar,  and  go  thy  way;    first  be  reconciled   to  thy 
brother— that  is,   reconcile   thy  brother  to   thyself,    whom   thou  hast 
injured.      Render  him   by   thy  submission   favorable  unto  thee,   who 
hath  something  against   thee,    and   is   offended   with  thee.'      As  the 
Apostle  adviseth   the  wife  thai  departeih  from  her  husband  to  remain 
unmarried  or  to  be  reconciled  to  her  husband— that  is.  to  appease  and 
get  the  favor  of  her  husband.      In  the  like  manner  we  are  said  to  be 
reconciled  unto  God   when  God   is  reconciled,  appeased,  and  !)ecome 
gracious   and   favorable  unto  us.     And  Christ  is  said  to  reconcile  us 
unto  God  when  He  hath  moved  and  obtained  of  God  to  be  reconciled 
unto  us,  when  He  hath  apneased  Him  and  restored  us  unto  His  favor. 
Thus   when   we  were  enemies   we   were   reconciled  to  God— that  is, 
notwithstanding   He   was   offended   with   us    for   our   sins,    we    were 
restored  unto  His  favor  bv  the  death  of  His  Son." 


APPENDIX    Y.     PAGE    139. 

Til  his  excellent  work.  '•  Cnurch  Doctrine  Hible  Tiuih,"  Mr. 
Sadler  thus  introduces  his  argument  ((.hapter  HI.)  : 

"  Tne  Scripture  teaching  beari  "  -•;■  .n  baptism  may  be  siimmed  up 
Uiiaer  the  five  following  heads  : 

"'  1.  In  about  twelve  places  in  Scripture  Christ  or  His  Apostles 
connect  salvation  with  Baptism. 

'•  2.  The  Christians  of  the  Apostolic  Churches  are  always  addressed 
as  ha.-ing  b^en  brought  iulc  a  s;ate  of  salvation  or  regeneration  at 
their  baptism. 


1 


[v.  ;' 


Mill 


220 


APrENDIX. 


"  3.  This  state  of  salvation  or  regeneration  does  not  Insure  the  final 
salvation  of  those  brought  into  it.  On  the  contrary,  the  memtjers  of 
these  churches  are  always  supposed  to  be  in  danger  of  falling  into 
sin  and  liable  to  be  cast  away. 

'*  4»  Those  who  thus  fall  away  are  always  assumed  to  fall  from 
grace.  They  are  never  for  a  moment  supposed  to  fall  into  sin 
because  God  has  withheld  grace  from  them. 

"  5.  In  no  case  are  baptized  Christians  called  upon  to  become 
regenerate.  They  are  called  upon  to  repent — to  turn  to  God — to 
cleanse  their  hands— to  purify  their  hearts;  never  to  become  re- 
generate." 

Mr.  Sadler  as  a  lad  was  brought  to  Baptism  and  the  Church  by 
means  of  a  sermon  preached  at  Leeds,  England,  in  1S41,  by  the  late 
Bishop  Doane,  of  New  Jersey,  having  been  enticed  by  curios'ty  ts 
see  and  hear  an  American  bishop. 


APPENDIX   Z.     PAGE    140. 

In  his  treatise  on  Baptism  Tertullian  has  gathered  many  in:t,  nces 
of  the  importance  attached  to  7C'(i/er  among  the  heathen  as  wel'  as  in 
the  Scriptures.  "  De  Baptismo,"  iii.,  Iv.,  v.,  ix.  In  ;he  -.intn 
chapter  he  sums  up  all  the  passages  where  water  is  brought  into 
some  connection  with  our  blessed  Lord.  He  says  :  "  This  is  the  7C'(j((r 
which  was  continually  flowing  down  for  the  people  from  the  companion 
Rock.  For  if  the  Rock  was  Christ,  without  doubt  we  see  Baptism 
blessed  by  'wdtcr  in  Christ.  How  great  is  the  grace  of  loatt'i  before 
God  and  His  Christ  for  the  confirmation  of  Baptism.  Never  is 
Christ  without  water  ;  if,  as  is  the  cas>  Himself  is  baptized  in  uater ; 
solemnly  inaugurates  the  first  displays  of  His  power  in  7iHiter  when  a 
guest  at  the  marriage;  when  He  preaches  He  invites  the  thirsty  to 
His  everlasting  ivafer ;  when  He  teaches  of  love  He  approves  the 
cup  of  7i<aicy  given  to  the  poor  among  the  works  of  charity  ;  He 
refreshes  His  strength  at  a  well ;  He  walks  on  the  water ;  constantly 
sails  by  loater  ;  ministers  waicrXo  His  disciples.  He  continues  His 
witness  to  Baptism  until  His  Passion  ;  when  He  is  given  over  to  the 
Cross  water  intervenes — the  hands  of  Pilate  are  conscious  of  it  ;  when 
He  is  wounded  water  breaks  forth — the  spear  of  the  soldier  is  con- 
scious of  it  " 

It  is  interesting  and  instructive  to  read  the  following  from  the  work 
already  quoted   "  The  Oriental  Christ,"  by  P.  C.  Mozoomdar.     The 


I 


m 


APPKXDIX. 


221 


first  chapter  is  headed  "  The  Bathing  Chris,,'    and    treats    of   our 
Lord  s  Baptism. 

"  Why  did  Jesus  bathe  >     Water  to  the  Oriental  means  perpetual 
blessedness.      The  rain   which  fer.iPxes  is  God's  grace.     The  stream 
which  rustles  on  is  a  running  source  of  divine  inspiration.    We  in  India 
at  various  t.mts,  have  worshipped  .he  God  of  rain.     The  confluences  of 
our  r.yers.  the  mountainous  solitudes  where  they  take  their  rise,  and 
the  white   Illimitable  expanse  where   they   mingle  with  ,he  sea    are 
more  sacred  than   we  can   tell.     There  is  a  transcendental  sense  of 
he  divme  m  them.     Power,  speed,  fruitfulness,  beautv,  purity    come 
from  the  nve  r.     We  Hi^.dus,  like  our  far  ofTancestors.'makc  offerings 
to  the  sea,  the  emblem  of  eternity.     There  is  no  pilgrimage  without 
.mmersion    in   water.     Bathing   is   ever   holy.     Over  an<i  above  the 
niorriing  bath,  which  renews  the  body,  and  is  an  invariable  prelude  to 
the  daily  devotions,  we  immerse  ourselves  in  water  a,  special  times 
Whenever  an  Oriental  has  ,o  purify  himself  from  a  personal  impuritv 
from  a  social  contamination,  from  a  death   in  the  household  •   when- 
ever he  has  to  rise  from  one  stage  of  religious  life  to  another  •  when- 
ever he  requires  an  initiation  into  higher  spiritual  life  and  precept    he 
must  bathe."     Page  47.  '         1   • 


APPENDIX    AA.     PAGE    141 

A  similar  argument  may  be  drawn  from  the  Greek  translation  of 
Esthers  :  17.  The  Hebrew  has,  "  And  manv  people  of  the  land 
became  Jews  ;  for  the  fear  of  the  Jews  fell  upon  them."  TheSepiua- 
gint  has,  "  Many  of  the  (ientiles  were  cinunnheu  and  Judai/ed  for 
fear  of  the  Jews."  If  at  the  time  of  that  translation  fprobablv  about 
the  middle  of  the  second  century,  v..c.),  there  had  been  anv  such  rite 
as  Baptism  in  use  among  the  Jews,  we  should  e.xpcct  it  to  be  included 
in  the  addition  made  to  the  Hebrew  narrative.  As  the  reference  to 
circumcision  is  an  addition  by  the  translators,  we  must  suppose  that 
It  was  regarded  by  them  as  the  only  ceremony  necessary  for  a  man 
to  become  a  Jew. 

Philo  and  Josephus,  and  the  earliest  Targum  (Onkelos)  are  silent 
on  the  question.  This  will  probably  bring  us  down  .0  the  end  of  the 
second  century  a.i,.  The  first  reference  seems  to  be  in  the  Targum 
of  Jonathan  :  and  later  on  in  Maimonides.  etc..  there  is  constant 
reference  to  the  ceremony  of  Baptism. 

It  has  been  argued  that  the  Jews  would  not  have  adopted  bapti^n 
from  the  Christians.     This  is  true.     But  John,  the  son  of  Zacharias, 


)t 


^t   *m   ^ 


AITKNDIX. 


was  not  a  Christian  ;  "  he  that  is  least  in  the  iciii};(lom  of  Hciveii  is 
greuter  than  he."  If  the  Jews  a(h)pte(|  it  from  John  the  Haplis-t, 
there  would  have  been  no  suspicion  of  following  the  Na/arenes. 
Such  a  ceremony  is  common  among  Orientals.     See  AppencJi;;  Z. 

No  liuuht  there  were  continual  washings  in  practice  among  the 
Jews,  in  common  life  as  well  as  in  ceremonial  purification.  But  there 
It  no  certain  evidence  of  Haptism  as  a  ceremony  of  initiation  into  the 
Jewish  religion  in  our  Lord's  day. 


AI'PENPiX    I;H.     page  1.43. 


'■\\\ 


<.  .tl 


!i..n(i,  to  abolish  the  body  of  sin,  that  it  should  no 
ilo  death  ;  on  the  other,  to  live  to  the  Spirit,  and 


"  And  this  clearly  answers  the  question,  For  what  reason  was  water 
joined  wi  he  Spirit?  Because  there  are  two  ends  proposed  in  Hap- 
tism :  on  •  ' 
longer  be, 11 

to  bear  fruit  n  ■  ictihcation"  (St.  Basil,  I)e  Sancto  Spiritu,  J;  35, 
Benedictine  Ed.,  Tom.  iii.,p.  29  C).  Then,  again,  a  little  before  he 
discusses  the  phrase,  "  They  were  baptized  into  Moses,"  in  compari- 
son of  Cliristian  Baptism.  "  What  then'.'  Because  they  were  typically 
baptizetl  into  Moses,  does  it  follow  th.it  small  is  the  grace  of  Baptism  ? 
Assuredly  in  this  way  nothing  else  of  ours  would  be  of  importance, 
if  we  depreciate  the  dignity  of  each  by  their  types.  .  .  .  The  Passion 
of  the  I,ord  would  not  be  glorious,  since  a  ram  instead  of  Isaac  filled 
the  tvre  of  the  sacrifice.  ...  A  man,  then,  does  just  this  same  thing 
in  the  case  of  Baptism  who  compares  the  reality  with  the  shadow, 
and  sets  the  things  signified  side  by  side  with  the  types  themselves, 
and  by  means  of  Moses  and  the  sea  attempts  to  tear  asunder  the 
whole  dispensation  of  the  Gospel.  For  what  sort  of  ninission  of  sins  ^ 
what  kind  of  )inc-,val  of  life  ^  what  sort  of  spiritual  grace  is  given 
by  Moses?  what  kind  of  death  of  sin  is  tlieie  \o  be  found?  Why, 
then,  do  you  compare  baptisms,  which  have  but  the  name  in  common, 
but  differ  as  much  as  a  dream  from  reality,  or  shadows  and  images 
from  substances  ?"  (j5  32). 

"  The  dispensation  of  our  God  and  Saviour  toward  man  consists  in 
a  restoration  from  the  effects  of  the  fall  and  a  return  to  intimate  union 
with  God,  after  the  alienation  causec'  by  disobedience"  (J;   35). 

The  controversy  between  St.  Cypiiin  and  Stephen,  Bishop  of 
Rome,  concerning  the  rebaptism  of  heretics,  on  their  joining  the 
Church,  brings  clearly  into  prominence  two  points  in  which  there  was 
full  ununimitv  at  the  time  : 


APPENDIX. 


223 


I.      There  was  aK'recmetu   about    the  Rrace   or  virtue   of  Baptism, 
liaptism  (si-{)arate  fr.Mii  Coulirrnalion)  conveyed 
i.  Remission  of  sins, 
ii.  Rejfeneratioii. 

iii.  Renewal. 

This  is  summed  up  in  the  Epistle  of  Firmiiian,  Bishop  of  Ca-sarea 
in  Cappadocia,  to  .St.  Cyprian  He  complains  that  Stephen  allows  to 
heretics  the  power  of  conferring  "  Hie  great  and  heavenly  Rifts  of  the 
Church  in  Baptism,"  and  these,  he  says,  are,  "  they  wash  away  the  filth 
of  the  old  man,  they  forgive  the  ancient  sins  of  death,  they  make  sons  of 
God  byheaverdy  regeneration,  they  renew  them  to  eternal  life  jjy  the 
sanctitication  of  the  divine  laver"  (Ep.  l.xxv.,  ^;  17.  Paris.  1726,  p.  '14S). 

See  also  Ep.  Ix.x.,  i^'  i  ;  Jxxiii.,  i;  7.  12,  iS  :  Ixxiv.,  i<  q,  (,' ;  Ixxv.^ 
JJ  B,  14. 

H.  There  was  aKrce,.,e>,c  that  Confirmation,  or  the  laving  on  of 
hands,  was  the  outward  means  of  the  communication  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  (St.  Cyprian,  Epis.  Ixxii..  i;  i  ;  Ixxxiii.,  ;^  (,,  ,)  ;  jxxiv.,  ,^  5. 
7  ;  Ixxv.,  .^  12,  iS). 

This  was  the  basis  and  strong  point  of  St.  Cyprian's  argument. 
All  agree  that  heretics  cannot  convey  or  communicate  the  Holy 
Spirit.  All  agree  that  regeneration  is  given  in  valid  Baptism.  Well, 
then,  argues  St.  Cyprian,  How  can  a  man  who  neither  has  nor  can 
communicate  the  Holy  Spirit  how  can  such  a  man  baptize  ^  Stephen 
answers.  It  is  the  custom  of  the  Church  ;  and  herein  he  was  right. 
But  St.  Cyprian  answered,  "  It  is  in  vain  that  some,  who  are  conquer- 
ed in  argument,  bring  '  custom  '  as  an  answer  to  us,  just  as  if  custom 
were  greater  than  truth,  or  just  as  if  that  should  not  be  followed  in 
spiritual  matters  which  has  been  revealed  for  the  better  plan  by  the 
Holy  Spirit."  Stephen  answered  by  excommunicating  St.  Cyprian,  the 
African  Bishops,  and  all  who  agreed  with  them.  Sr.  Cyprian  justly 
regarded  this  as  a  very  poor  argument.  St.  Firmiiian  pointed  out 
that  this  was  practically  excommunicating  himself. 

But  Stephen  was  right,  as  the  event  proved,  in  his  position,  but  not 
in  his  arrogant  temper. 

The  XXVI hh  Article  of  our  Church  gives  much  the  same  view  of 
Baptism  : 

Baptism  "  is  a  sign  of  regeneration  or  new  Birth,  whereljy,  as  by  an 
instrument,  thev  that  recci^-e  bajUi'-m  rightly  are  grafted'into  the 
Church  :  the  promises  of  forgiveness  of  sin,  and  of  our  adorition  to  be 
the  sons  of  God  by  the  1  loly  Ghost,  are  visibly  signed  and  sealed, 
faith  is  confiimcd,  and  grace  increased  by  virtue  of  prayer  unto  God."' 


224 


Al'PENDIX. 


:  i ' 


li 


APPENDIX  BB.*    PAGE  151. 

The  following  passages  will  be  sufficient  to  show  this  : 

Secoiu/  century,  Tertullian,  Df  Baptisino,  xix.,  "  Easter  is  the  most 
solemn  time  for  Baptism,  when  also  the  Passion  of  the  Lord  by  which 
we  are  baptized,  was  completed.  .  .  .  Next  to  that  Pentecost  is  the 
most  joyous  time  for  arranging  feasts."     He  gives  reasons. 

luiiirt/i  Ci'iilioy,  A.IJ.  3S5,  Siricius  of  Rome,  writing  to  Himerius, 
Bishop  of  Tarragona  (J;  2),  forbids  solemn  public  Baptisms  to  be 
celebrated  except  at  Easter  and  Pentecost,  and  blames  Baptism  of 
large  numbers  taking  place  on  Saints'  Day  ;  but  in  peril  of  death  at 
any  time  (Labbei  Concilia,  Tom.  ii.,  col.  1018). 

A.D.  390,  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Orat.  xl..  Opera,  Paris,  1609, 
speaks  of  excuses  for  putting  off  Baptism,  "  I  am  wailing  for  the 
Epiphany.      Easter  is  much  belter.      I  will  await  Pentecost." 

J-'ift/i  century,  St.  Leo,  A.D.  447,  Ep.  xvi  ,  Tom.  i.,  462,  also  718. 
Baptism  not  to  be  celebrated  publicly  on  the  Epiphany,  only  at 
Easter  aiu'    '  ntecost. 

Sixth  ceii:ury,  Co.  Macon,  IL,  A.D.  5S5,  forbids  Baptism  at  any 
other  time  except  in  case  of  necessity,  complaining  that  at  Easier 
"there  ar  -nly  '  i  or  three  to  be  regenerated  by  water  and  the 
Holy  Spirit." 

.St.  Gregory  of  Tours,  Hist.  Francorum,  VHL,  ix.,  at  Christmas,  this 
would  probably  include  Epiphany  ;  Easter  ;  St.  John's  Day,  I/ist. 
/■>.,  X.,  w.,  "  Release  the  Abbess,  or  not  a  single  cati  chumen  shall 
be  baptized  at  Easter." 

l-'.ii^ltth  century,  Gregory  H,,  A.i).  720,  Easter  and  Pentecost 
(Labbei  Cone,  vi.,  1443  and  1453). 

Xiuth  century,  Co.  Paris,  VL,  A.D.  829.  Easter  and  Pentecost 
(Labbei  Cone,  vii.,  1603  and  1621  ;  also  Co.  Tribuiiense,  Can.  xii.,  A.l>. 
895,  Labbei,  ix.,  445). 


APPENDLX  CC.     PAGE  153. 

"  The  Power  of  the  Priesthood  in  Absolution,"  by  Rev.  \\^  Cooke, 
Hon.  Canon  of  Chester,  is  the  most  valuable  treatise  on  this  subject, 
though  it  seems  impertinent  to  praise  the  work  of  one  to  whom  the 
writer  of  these  lectures  owes  so  much  as  he  does  to  Canon  Cooke. 

The  following  passage  shows  the  inclusive  character  of  the  Confes- 
sion in  the  service  of  the  Holy  Communion. 

"The  Confession  is,  in  fact,  the  expression  of  the  results  of  that 


APPENDIX. 


225 


careful  .elt  ex  iminati.n  which  the  Priest  was  or.Iered  to  exhor,  his  par- 
.sh.oners  to  make,  before  they  communirated  on  the  Hody  and  Hlood 
of  Christ.      I  hat  u  includes  venial  sins  may  be  gathered   from  the  re- 
quirement, '  that   you  confe^syour   sins   of  infirmity  or  ignorance  •  ' 
that  u  ,s  not  confined  to  these  is  manifest  from  the  general   tone  M 
the  Exhortation,  wh.ch  treats  of   '  sins  and  unkindness  toward  God's 
Majesty  committed  ;  '  sins  of  '  malice  and  hatred  and  wrong  done  to 
a  neighbor  ;     sins  that  need  deep  sorrow,  and  confession,  and  amend- 
ment ;  without    which,    it  declares,    ■  Neither  the   absolution   of   the 
Priest  can  avail,  nor  the  receiving  of  this  holy  sacrament  doth  any- 
thing but   increase   damnation.'       And   as   it  stands   in   our   present 
Book,  the  Exhortation  contain,  an  expression  which  has  marked  ref- 
erence to  mortal  sin.     The  teaching  of  the  Schoolmen  is  '  th-t  mortal 
s.ns   must  be   diligently  recollected  and  individually  detected  •  '  and 
m  strict  accordance   with  this  the  Church  orders:   '  IV/wreins.'cver  y^ 
shall   perceive  yourselves  to  have  offended,   either  bv   will,  word    oi 
deed    t;>ere  to  bewail  your  own  sinfulness,  and  to  co'nfess  yourselves 
to  Almighty  God  with  full  purpose  of  amendment  of  life  ' 

••  I  i.e  Confession,  therefore,  being  framed  to  en:bodv  the  results  of 
such  minute  search  and  examination  of  conscience,  and  including  all 
sms,  mortal  as  well  as  venial,  is  suited  both  for  those  •  that  are  -Satis- 
fied with  a  general  confession,'  and  for  those  who  'do  use  to  their 
further  satisfying,  the  auricular  and  secret  confession  to  the   Priest  ' 

Rubric'.  Tf"  h'„"':'  ^'^^   '^   ^"""'  ^°"^^^^'°"'    P-"'^^  -  'he 
Rubric     Then    shall    this   general    Confession    be    made.'     It  is  in 

general  terms,  so  as  to  apply  to  the  whole  body  of  assembled  Chris 
tians  ;  yet  m  such  wise  as  to  admit  of  each  individual  making  therein 
particular  mention  of  h.s  own  sins  and  burden  and  grief  " 
_    "  1  he  Absolution  reaches  as  far  as  the  Confession,  and  the  sentence 
Pardon  and  deliver  you  from  all  y.nir  sins.'  remits  all  the  sins  con- 
fessed, mortal  as  well  as  venial." 

Then^with  respect  to  the  Confession  and  Absolution  in  daily  prayer 
Canon  Cooke  writes  :  "J"='i 

••  In  the  Second  Book  of  King  Edward  VI.  were  placed  at  the  begin 
n.ng  of  the  Office  of  M  ttins  the  general  Confession  and  the  Ib^o  u- 
tion  which  preface  both  the  Matins  and  Evensong  of  our  present 
book.  Archdeacon  Freeman  points  out  that  '  these  are  constructed 
m  that  form  which  would  most  completely  adapt  them  for  super- 
sedmg,  in  all  ordinary  cases,  private  Confession  and  Abso'  uion  ' 
An  examination  of  the  Confession  will  show  that,  like  the  Confe«=eion 
m  the  Liturgy,  it  is  framed  with  the  closest  regard  to  the  old  defini 
15 


■•'i^r 


{.' .( 


'^f 


!.  i 


;    I 


(  ' 


226 


APPENDIX. 


tions  of  mortal  sin  ;  and  that  it  differs  in  this  respect  from  the  Ancient 
Confessions  at  Prime  and  Compline,  which  were  considered  to  refer 
to  venial  sins  alone.  The  clauses.  '  \Vc  have  erred  and  strayed  from 
Thy  ways  like  lost  sheep,  we  have  f(  Mowed  too  much  the  devices  and 
desires  of  our  own  hearts,  '  are  simply  the  definition  of  .St.  Thomas 
A(iuinas  thrown  into  a  i>rccatory  form  :  '  Mortal  sin  proceeds  from 
the  aversion  of  man's  will  from  G(nl  by  its  conversion  to  a  commu- 
talde  good  ;  '  the  petitions,  '  Spare  Thou  them  which  confess  their 
faults,  r  store  Thou  them  tli;it  are  penitent,'  with  the  final  prayers  for 
^'race  to  amend,  accord  exactly  with  the  definition  of  penitence, 
winch  'consists  in  the  reconversion  of  the  will  to  God,  with  detesta- 
tion of  the  past,  and  a  purpose  of  amendment  for  the  future.'  And 
the  Absolution  which  follows  covers  all  that  is  included  in  the  Con- 
fession." 


APPENDIX   DD.     PAGE  154- 

The    foMowing   p;\ssaj;e   is    (juoted    by  Canon  Cooke  from  Bishop 
Fleetwood,  Chaplain  to  William  III.  : 

"  Bishop  Fleetwood,  in  his  '  Essay  on  Miracles,'  thus  ex- 
plains the  passage:  'On  a  certain  occasion,  when  one  sick  of  the 
p  dsy  was  brout;ht  unto  Ilim,  He  said  unto  the  sick  of  the  pdsy,  Son, 
thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee.  Bu'.  there  were  certain  of  the  scribes  sit- 
ting there  and  reasoning  in  their  hearts.  Why  doth  this  man  speak 
blasphemies?  Who  can  forgive  sins  but  God  only?  And  immedi- 
at-  ly  when  Jesus  perceived  in  Ilis  spirit  that  they  so  reasoned  within 
the.Tiselves,  He  said  unto  them.  Why  reason  ye  these  things  in  ycur 
hearts?  OurSiviour  does  not  here  blame  them  for  thus  reasoning 
with  themselves  ;  for  certainly  ihey  reasoned  right,  that  none  but 
God  could  forgive  sins  ;  and  it  was  no  great  matter  to  mistake,  and 
think  that  Christ  attributed  such  power  to  Himself,  by  pronouncing 
so  absolutely  '  that  his  sins  were  fotgiven  him  ;  "  and  such  a  power 
they  never  knew  committed  to  any  man  :  He  does  not  blame  them 
therefore  for  so  reasoning,  but  takes  occasion  from  thence  to  show 
them  TC'/iJ  He  7t'as,  and  the pozui'r  lie  hid  comiiiittCi/  to  I/i'ii,  and  for 
what  purpose  ;  and  therefore  He  goes  on,  "  Whether  is  it  easier  to  say 
to  the  sick  of  the  pa'sy,  Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee  ;  or  to  s.ny,  Arise, 
tike  up  thy  bed,  and  walk.  But  that  ye  may  know  that  the  Son  of 
Man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forqive  sins  I  say  unto  thee  "  (speaking 
then  to  the  sick  of  the  palsy),  ''  Arise,  tjke  up  thy  bed,  and  go  thy  way 
unto  thy  house.  "     Considtr  with  yourselves  this  matter.     Ycu  heard 


AI'I'KNDIX. 


22  - 


uicient 
()  refer 
d  from 
cs  and 
rhonias 
Is  from 
:ommu- 
;s   lluir 
vers  for 
iiitence, 
dftesta- 
.•     And 
ic  Con- 


Bisliop 

hus    ex- 

k  of  the 
sy,  Son, 
ibes  sit- 
n   ?peak 
immedi- 
d  wiihin 
in  ycur 
■asoning 
one  but 
ake,  and 
ouncing 
a  power 
iiie  them 
lo  show 
and  for 
|er  to  say 
,  Arise, 
Son  of 
peaking 
thy  way 
u  heard 


Me  lately  tell  this  si-  k  man  thnt  his  sins  were  forgiven  him,  ami 
thought  immediately  that  I  had  spoken  impious  and  blasphemous 
words,  atlriljuling  to  Myself  a  power  ()Iainly  ilivine  and  incommuri- 
cable,  th;it  is,  of  forgiving  sins.  That  God  alone  can  forgive  sins 
committed  against  Himself  is  certainly  true  ;  hut  if  yot<  think  tliat  /A 
ccv'n.ft  Ciuiiiiiitiiicdt,;  this  /.'Ti'.r,  you  arc  tnistakot  ;  for  1  assure  you. 
that  the  Son  of  Matt,  even  I  who  speak  to  you,  have  power  on  earth 
to  forgive  sins,  and  I  was  exercising  this  good  power  upon  this  mis- 
er.iblc  paralytic,  which  was,  you  know,  the  occasion  t)f  your  inward 
reasoning,  and  concluding  Me  to  liave  blasphemed.  And  what  think 
you?  You  see  this  poor  creature,  how  impotent  and  weak  he  is 
before  you,  how  altogether  un.ible  he  is  to  stir  and  help  himself  :  do 
not  you  believe  it  is  as  easy  for  God  to  give  Me  the  power  of 
forgiving  sins,  as  it  is  to  give  Mc  the  power  of  working  miraculous 
cures?  Muy  I  not  say  as  easily,  "Thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee,"  as  I 
can  say,  "  Arise,  take  up  thy  I>cd,  and  walk  "  ?  If  I,  without  the  ap- 
plication of  proper  means,  or  any  manner  of  prescription,  shall  cure 
this  man  of  his  distemper  by  the  bare  wortl  of  My  mouth,  by  saying 
only,  "  Arise,  take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk,"  will  you  not  believe  that  I 
have  also  power  to  forgive  sins,  since  one  is  full  as  easy  as  the  other  - 
Now,  that  you  may  know  assuredly  that  I,  the  Son  of  Mau,  have 
power  on  earth  to  forgive  sin«:,  you  shall  see  that  I  have  power  tfi 
cure  this  paralytic  presently- -"  I  say  unto  thee,  then,"  thou  lame  ard 
helpless  creature,  "  Arise,  take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk,  and  go  thy  way 
to  thy  house.  "  Whether  his  sins  be  truly  forgiven  him,  according  to 
My  word,  is  what  you  cannot  possibly  discover  ;  but  whether  I  have 
power  to  cure  this  man's  disease,  the  effect  will  show  immediately, 
and  you  will  visibly  discern.  "  And  immediately  he  arose,  took  up 
his  bed,  and  went  forth  before  them  all  ;  insomuch  that  they  were 
all  amazed,  an  i  glorified  God,  saying,  We  never  saw  it  on  this  fash- 
ion. "  Here  is  an  act  of  great  mercy  shown  to  a  poor  miserable  man  ; 
but  it  is  plain  that  Christ's  design  was  now  to  show  the  Jews  the 
truth  of  that  doctrine,  "  That  the  Son  of  Man  hath  power  on  earth  to 
foKi^ive  sins."  That  was  the  thing  the  Jews  stuml)!cd  at,  and  this 
was  the  way  Christ  took  to  set  them  right  ;  the  miracle  was  to  piocure 
attention  and  belief  ;  the  visible  effect  of  a  divine  power  was  to  con- 
vince them  that  what  He  said  was  true,  although  the  effect  (namely, 
the  forgiveness  of  sins)  was  and  must  be  invisil)le.' 

"  Our  Lord  does  not  deny  that  God  only  has  the  absoUite  power  and 
right  to  forgive  sins.  He  does  not  here  claim  to  forgive  sins  as  being 
God.     He  states  simply  that  He,  the  Son  of  Man,  Jias power  on  earth 


h  "■ 


rsr"^'^ 


f 


i: 


■    ■■  ti    I,    ' 

1  ■     It     ■  . 


i.  ' 

J 

? .  ^ 

.(, 

1  ^  i' 

i 

r 

''' 

t 

\ 

lil 

1 

ILm^..  . . 

228 


AI'I'KNDIX. 


to  fofRive  sins.  The  word  which  is  translated  '  power '  is  a  clew  to 
the  mcaiiii)^'.  It  is  not /'i>j<r;-,  absolute  and  inlu-icnt,  or  ])rerogalivc'  , 
but  delet;ale(l  i)ower,  license,  permission,  granted  from  a  higher  au 
thorily.  And  this  delegated  power  to  forgive  sins  on  earth,  this 
license  and  permission  to  forgive  sins  on  earth,  lie  claims  for  Him- 
self as  the  Son  of  Man.  He  explained  on  another  occasion  that  //u- 
->';';;  of  Man  cast  out  devils  and  workeii  miracles  by  the  spirit  of  God. 
He  said,  '  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  hath  anointed  Me.  ...  He  hath 
sent  Me  ...  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  Ijruised.'  The  Holy 
."Spirit  gave  H"m,  the  Son  of  Man,  power  to  work  miracles  and  to  for- 
give sins  on  earth." 


APPENDIX  EE.     PAGE  159. 

"  It  were  an  unexplained  and  unexainplcd  metaphor  that  to  eat  His 
Flesh  were  to  believe  in  Him  ;  the  more  so,  since  in  that  language 
such  metaphor  is  only  used  of  preying  upon  a  person,  or  on  one's 
self,  or  of  calumniation  (the  metaphor  is  from  wild  beasts — e.g., 
When  the  wicked,  even  My  foes,  came  upon  Me  to  eat  up  My  llesh, 
iliey  stumbled  and  fell'  [Psalms  27  ;  2]  ;  '  Who  also  eat  the  flesh  of 
My  people'  [Micah  3:3;  cf.  Job  19  :  22  ;  Psalms  14:4;  Jeremiah 
It)  :  25  ;  50  :  17])."  A  sermon  by  Rev.  E.  B.  Pusey,  D.D.,  "This  is 
My  Body,"  1S71,  pp.  21,  22. 


APPENDIX    FF.    PAGE  160. 

Arnold  on  Baruch  i  :  10  writes  (Commentary  on  Apocrypha,  1753, 
p.  *95)  :  The  word  "is  improperly  rendered //'<y^(z;v  ,•  it  is  asacrificial 
e.Kpression,  and  signifies /(' (^'rr.  .  .  .  The  words  at  the  institution  cf 
the  Eucharist  would  be  as  well  rendered,  *  Offer  this  in  remembrance 
ol  Me.'  It  is  likewise  so  used  by  the  Jewish  Hellenistic  writers  and  by 
the  Greek  ones  of  the  Church,  2l?,  facere  is  also  among  the  Latins." 

So  too  Bishop  Bull  ("  Corruptions  of  the  Church  of  Rome,"  Works 
ed.,  Burton,  1827,  vol.  ii.,  p.  251)  :  "  They  held  the  Eucharist  to  be  a 
commemorative  sacrifice,  and  so  do  we.  This  is  the  constant  language 
of  the  ancient  liturgies,  '  We  offer  by  way  of  commemoration,  accord- 
ing to  our  Saviour's  words  when  He  ordained  this  holy  rite,  Do  this 
in  co)iimc)Horation  of  Me.''  " 

In  order  to  help  students  to  make  up  their  minds  on  this  subject, 
the  following  references  to  the  Greek  Septuagint  are  given  ;  when  the 
same  Greek  word  as  St.  Paul  (i  Corinthians  11  :  24,25)  and  St.  Luke 


ArrKNDix. 


22t; 


.  I7?3> 
acrilicial 
tulion  cf 
brance 
and  by 
ns." 
Works 
to  be  a 
nguage 
accojd- 
Do  this 

subject, 
fhen  the 
)t.  Luke 


(22  ;   Kj)  represent  our  Hlesscd  Lord  as  usin^;  is  employed  for  uuriju, 
or  ojfer  : 

Kxndus   10  :   25  ;  29  :   3Ct,  38,  3(},  41  ;   Leviticus  4  :  20  ;   <)  :  7,  \(),  22 
14  :    U),    30  ;    15  ;    15  ;   \()  :    15,  24  ;    17  :   4.  rj  ;   22  :    23.  .■•4  ;   23  :    !2,  M  : 
Numbers  6  :   ir,  16,    [7  ;  8  :   12  ;   15:3,    8,  24  ;  28  :  4,  8,  15,  24,  31  . 

29  :  2  ;   Deuteronomy   12  :    27  ;  Joshua  22  :  23  ;  Judges   13  :   16,   i(> 
I  Samuel  i  :  24. 

1  Kings  3  :  15;  8:  64;  ii;  33.  This  passage  is  remarkable.  The 
Creek  is  "[)![)  to  Astarte."  The  Knglish  has  ''  Worship; i\i 
Ashtoreth."  The  Hebrew  is  the  Hithpalel  of  S/uu/uVi,  to  bow  down 
or  prostrate  one's  self  ;  it  is  the  same  as  in  Genesis  22  :  5  :  "I  and  the 
lad  will  go  yonder  and  xvorsliip''  and  i  Samuel  i  :  3,  "  This  man  went 
up  yearly  to  vorship.''''  For  the  Greek  To/f/r  to  be  used  for  this  word 
shows  how  entirely  the  sense  of  sacrificial  worship  had  become  at 
tachcd  to  the  Greek  rrtinir.  It  is  used  here  as  intransitive,  followed  by 
a  dative  ''  offered  to  Astarte." 

2  K'  igs  5  :  17  ;  10 :  24,  25  ;  17  :  32  ;  2  Chronicles  7:7;  Job  42 
8  ;  r*salm  (>()  :  15  ;  Isaiah  ig  :  21  ;  Jeremiah  33  :  18  ;  Kzekiel  43  :  2? 
27  ;  45  :  17,  22,  23  ;  46  :  2,  12,  13,  15. 

The  following  are  instances  of  Trmiiv  with  unbloody  sacrifices  : 

Exodus  2<)  :  41  ;  Leviticus  2  :  7,  S  (II  )ur),  11  ;  6  :  22  ;  Numbers   15 
5  (wine),  C)  (flour),  14  ;  28  :  21,  24  ;   E/ekiel  46  :  14. 

In    the    following   passages   there    is    no    Hebrew    to  correspond  ; 

Numbers  15:6;  28  :  5  ;  2  Kings  10  :  2r  ;  Baruch  i  ;  10. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  many  passages,  where  the  word 
~<in'iv  is  used  of  kt'i-piuj^,  or  celebrating  the  Passover. 

Exodus  12 :  48  ;  13  :  5  ;  Numbers  9:2,  3,  4,6,  11,  12,  13,  14; 
Deuteronomy  16  :  i  ;  Joshua  5     10  ;    2  Kings  23  :  21  ;  2  Chronicles 

30  ;  2r,  23  ;    2  Chronicles  35  :  i,   16,   17,   iS    19  ;    Ezra  6  :  19,  22  ;   i 
Esdras  i  :  6  ;  St.  Matthew  26  :  iS  ;  Hebrews  11  :  28. 

In  St.  Luke  2  :  27,  "  When  the  parents  brought  in  the  child   Jesus 
to  Jo  for  Him  after  the  custom  of  the  law,"  it  would   be  far  better  to 
trinslate   as   is  required,   "to  offer  for  Him  ;"  this  is  distinctly  the 
meaning  of  the  passage  :  it  is  as  much  a  sacrificial  word  as  that  trans- 
lated off-r  in  5  :  24,  which  really  means  (0  i^niw. 

Indeed,  though  the  meaning  in  this  connection  is  not  >  .-rtain,  in 
St.  Mark  14  :  S,  to  translate,  "  She  offered  what  she  had,"  is  simpler, 
and  gives  the  grammatical  force  of  the  two  aorists  far  better  than 
"  she  /lafh  done  what  she  could." 

Leavinj^  Scripture,  we  have  the  following  in  the  earliest  Christian 
times  : 


:'i  I   ^ 


;»:    i 


230 


AIM'KNDIX. 


St.  Clement  of  Rome.  Tp.  to  Corinthians,  ^  4(j,  where  Hishop 
Li>j;tuf()()t  transl;it(  s  "  wi//!.'  their  ofterings"  without  note. 

St.  Justin  Mcirtyr  uses  the  word  in  this  sense  in  three  passages,  and 
it  is  sadly  amusing  to  ^ee  to  what  straits  purlis.ins  are  reduced  in 
the  translation. 

Apology  I.,  5i  Ixv.,  ed.  Thirlby.  London,  1722,  p.  (/j,  1  S.  Here,  in 
("lark's  Ante-N'irene  Library,  the  passage  is  rightly  rendered  "  ojTirs." 
Here  the  verb  is  in  the  middle  voire. 

Dialogue  with  Trypho,  Jl  4T,  ed.  Thiril)y,  p.  220.  Here  Brown  i 
1745  translates  accurately,  "  The  offering  of  fine  flour  was  also  a  type 
of  that  Eucharisiical  bread  which  our  Lord  Jtsus  Christ  lias  rotiunand- 
ed  us  10  ojft'r"  (Reprint,  i^-\(i,  p.  i/i).  Hut  in  Clark's  .\.  N.  Library 
liS()7,  p.  13S)  Rev.  G.  Reith,  A.  M.,  throws  scholari-hip  and,  indeed, 
sense,  to  the  wind,  and  renders  "  the  bread  of  the  luicharist,  iIk-  ct-/c- 
/>r,jtion  of  wliich  our  Loid  prescribed. "  Now  'v/iich  refers  to  I'lratl  and 
not  to  Eucharist  ;  but  this  translation  leads  us  to  bclit  vc  that  the  crle- 
h>\Uioi!  of  the  Eucharist  is  said  to  have  been  prescribed.  This  would 
be  sense.  But  "  the  celebration  of  t/w  /'/raif  is  pure  nonsense. 
How  can  any  one  besirles  Mr.  Reith  (elchmtc  bread ? 

J)ial()gue,  v-  70,  ed.  Thirlby,  p.  290.  Here  Mr.  Brown  (reprint,  1^46, 
p.  151 )  is  correct  :  "That  bread  which  our  Christ  hath  commanded 
us  to  ^//Iv-  .  .  .  that  cup  which  He  commanded  those  that  celebrate 
the  Eucharist  to  ry7>''."  But  Mr.  Reith  gets  wilder  than  before  (p.  187" 
He  has  '"the  bread  which  our  Christ  gave  us  10  i;at.  .  .  the  cr 
which  he  gave  us  to  dkink  !"  Can  any  scholar  (besides  Mr.  Reith) 
lind  one  passage  any  where  in  a  reputable  Greek  author,  where  -unir 
civi  mean  to  ea/,  and  also  to  ,irink,  in  the  same  sentence  ? 

Cornelius,  Bishop  of  Rome,  .\.i).  251.  His  letter  about  Novatus 
is  given  in  Eusebius  (Imc.  Hist.,  vi.,  43,  ed.  Heinichen,  vol.  ii.,  p. 
279),    "  Having  olft-reJ  the  oblation." 

This  meaning  is  continued  to  this  day  in  the  Greek  Church.  In  the 
prothesis,  when  all  is  ready  for  the  Liturgy,  the  Deacon  says  to  the 
priest  :  "  It  is  time  to  oj/rr  loxha  Lord,"  -iii7,ntH  (Euchologion  Mega, 
Venice,  1S62,  p.  44).  See  also  the  rubric  on  p.  105,  "  When  the  priest 
is  about  to  oJ^cT  the  Prohegiasmene." 


i 

f 

•f !! 

if    ! 

•\    . 

■f  ii 

1 

1 

.% 

! 

:    i^ 

'i 

APPENDIX  GO.     PAGE  1S2. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  in  Scripture  the  number  seven  denotes  per- 
fection  or   completeness.       When    St.    Paul    had    written    to   st-zrn 


Al'I'I'XhIX. 


251 


Churclu's.  his  messa^'c  to  the  whole  Church  was  complete  .-.n.l  no 
more  Llplsiles  of  hi.s  were  inspire,!.  He  wrote  to  the  followin« 
Churches:  Thessalonian.  Corinthian.  Roman,  (iahuian,  Kphesian 
Ihiiippian.Coiossian.  Kven  if  the  Kpistle  to  the  flebrews  he  as- 
cribe,! to  h,m.  it  is  rather  to  a  class  of  persons  within  the  Chu,,  h  thai 
It  IS  written,  t!i an  to  a  Church. 

Simiiarly.  St.  John  in    the   .Apocalypse    was  instructs!    to  write  to 
sc-ru  Churches,  am!  the  messawe  was  complete.      In  t!,e  Apocalvpse 
the  .r,  rv;,  Can(!lestirl<s  represent  the  whole  Church  ;  an.l  the  seven  Seals 
an<l  the  seven  Trumpets  and  the  seven  Vials  all  signify  completeness 
in  various  w.iys.     Then  there  are  seven   weeivs  en.ling    at   I'tnlecosi 
(Leviticus  23  :    15).   seven   pilla.s  to  the  House  of  Wisdom  (Proveths 
9  :  I),  seven  notes  in  tlie  nuis.ca!  scale,  an.!  seven  ,lavs  in   the  weel< 
The  fn||owin;r  is  from  a  manuscript,  in  handwriting  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  fourteenth  century,  in  the  writer's  possession,  and  is  inter- 
esting in  this  connection  : 

"Of  the  .seven  i,etitions  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  it  is  to  be  remarked 
that  by  them 

i.     The  seven  deadly  sins  are  jjut  to  tlij,'ht. 
ii.     The  seven  ^ifts  of  the  Spirit  are  introduced. 
iii.     The  seven  Ueatitudes  are  achieved, 
iv.     The  seven  Rewards  are  bestowed. 
"  L     The  first  petition  is,  '  Il.allowed  be  Thy  name.' 
That  is,  Thou,  O   Father,   Who  art  the   Father  of    all  bv  Creation 
art    ours   by    special   l(,ve  ;     Who    a,t    in     the    natural    Heavens     by 
presence  and  power,  in  the  spiriiu  d   Heavens  by  grace.     Of  which  it 
IS  said  ,n  the  psalm,  '  Th.  Heavens  declare  the  ylory  of  God.'   /An7o7cu;/ 
-that  IS,  may  this  Thy  name  of  Father  be  confirmed  in  us,  that  we  may 
ever  be  and  l;e  found  Thy  faithful  children  by   obedience  and    filial 
subjection. 

i.     Thus  the  deadly  sin    of  /';/,/,■  is   excluded,    which    refuses 

subjection, 
ii.     ThcKiftof  filial    fear  is  introduced,  fleeing  from  sin  on  ac- 
count of  its  offence  to  God,  and  on   account  of  love  of  our 
Father  ;  for  the  fear  of  the  Lord  drives  away  sin. 

The  first  Heaiitude  is  obtained-viz..  Poverty  of  Spirit  ;   that 
is,  when  a  man  is  poor,  so  far  as  tfie  spirit  of  perversity  and 
boasting,  of  which  it  is  said  in  fsaiah,  '  Cease  ve  from  man 
whose   breath  is  in   his   nostrils,    for  he  is  reputed  lofty.' 
( l'ti/^(i/e  version.) 

The  first  reward  is  bestowed  ^ viz.,  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven, 


111. 


IV. 


^}>2 


AI'l'KNDIX. 


N 


h 
1 


I"  M 

"4: 


S'l 


I 


r  ;!i 


f 


II. 

iii. 
iv. 


'  Hlosseil  ;ir«'  the  pmir  in  si)iiil  :   for  llii'irs  is  tin-  Kiiii;iloni 
(if  Heaven.' 
"II.     'I'lu'    sfcoi'd    pi-titidii    is,   '  Tliy    Kin,i;ii(iMi   conic;'  llial   is,  I 
pray  lliat  tlu'  wlmli-  world  may  come  to  Thy  Kingdom. 

i.      Tims  ilie  deadly  sin  of  envy  is  i-xcliidcd,  wliich  docs  not  dc- 
siie  tlie  uood  of  others, 
'riie  \^\{\  of  trnc  (iodliness  is  introdmed. 
The  second  Beatitude     vi/.,    Mt-ekness,  is  obtained. 
The  second    reward    is  tiesiowed— vi/.,  the  possession  of  the 
heavenly  land  ;  of  wliich  it  is  said,  '  Thou  art  my  poition  in 
the  land  of  the  livini;.' 
"  III.   The  third  petition  is.  "Thy  will  he  done  :'  that  is,  that  men 
inay  l>e  of  one  mind  and  trampiil.     This  prayer,  '  Thy  will  he  done,' 
is  that  men  may  l)e  tran(iuil  on  earth  as  the  an^^els  are  in  Heaven. 

i.   Thus  is  exckiiled   the  de.idly  sin  of  An^;er,  which  prevents  a 

man  from  knowinj;  what  the  will  ol  Hod  is. 
ii.   Thus  is  intioduced   the   ^ift  of   Knowledge,  which  teaches  us 

v.'hat  we  must  do  and  liow  we  must  live, 
ii'.   Thus  is  obtained    the  third   licatitude      viz.,   mourninp.      He 
who  does  not  know  lu)w  to  live  rightly  ought  to  mourn  for 
his  sins, 
iv.   Thus  is  bestowed  the  ihinl  toward- viz.,  eternal  consolation, 
'  Bi(  ssed  are  they  that  mourn  :  for  they  shall  be  (dmfoitcd.' 
"  W .    The  fourth  petition  is,  '  (live  us  this  day  our  daily  Bread  ;* 
that  is.  I  ask  not  merely  for  boddy  lood,  but  fooil  lor  my  soul. 

i.   Thus  is  excluded  the  dta<)lj  sin  of  sloth  ;  tliat  is,  distaste  for 

the  word  of  (iod. 
ii.   Thus  is  introduced  the  gift  of  Cihostly  strength. 
ill.    Thus  is  ob  ained  the  fouith  Bc;alitude  ;  that  is,  hungeiing  after 

Righteousness, 
iv.  Thus  i'.  bestowed  on  man  the  fourth  reward  -  viz.,  Satisfaction. 
'  Blesse^i  are  thev  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  lighteousness  : 
for  they  shall  be  filled.' 
"  V.    The   fifth   petition  is,   '  Forgive   us  our   debts  as   we  forgive 
them  that  are  indebted  to  us  ;  '   that  is    forgive  us  our  debts  by  remit- 
ting them,  ami  by  bestowing  on  us  the  gift  of  grace.     As  we  forgive 
our  debtors — ih.it   is,  by  pardoning  their  debts  and  by  giving  i.iem  a 
gift. 

i.  Thus  is  excluded  the  deadly  sin  of  avarice. 

ii.   Thus  is  brought  in  the  gift  of  counsel,  whii  h  i<,  '  Go  and  sell 
all  that  you  have  and  give  to  the  poor.' 


■srt.^ 


"Ji^.^'-'H- 


AITKNDIX. 


233 


iii.   Tluis  is  bestowed  the  lifih   ncaiitu.le.  whi.h   is  Merry  in  (his 
|)r('scnt  W()il,|. 

iv.   Thus    is   bcsK.wed    the  fifth   r<-w..nl.   win.h    is    the    ..htainiriK 
Mu-rcy  aiKl  freedom  in  the  future.      '  Hlessed  are  the  i,ur<  ,- 
fill  ;   for  they  shall  obtain  mercy." 
"VI.  The  sixth  petition  is.  '  L,  ad  us  not  into  temptation  ;'  thai  .s 
that  we  be  not  ovenome  by  temptation     ,.^v  .  ^-xress  of  foo.l  or  ,!,ink 
I.    I  iuis  IS  excluded  gluttony. 

ii.   Thus  is  int.oduced  the  KJft  of  u^,^erslandinK^  which  is  against 
excess. 

iii.    Tbus  is  obtained  the  sixth  Heatilude,  which  is  purity  of  he,,! 
IV.    I  bus  ,s  bestowed  the  sixth  rewa,.|,  the  beatihc  vision  of  ':..) 
Ilnnself.     '  Hiessed  are  th-:  |.ure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  s.e 

"  VII.   The  seventh  petition  is,  '  Deliver  us  from  ev.l  ;  '  that  is.  fmn, 
the  evil  of  incontinerue. 

i.   Thus  is  e.\(  luded   luxury. 

ii.   Thus    is   introduced   the   Rifi  of   wi.sdom,  «ivi„K  spiritual  taMe 
aijamst  the  tiesh.      Tor  when  spiritual  deliKhts    have   be.  n 
pi  rceived.  ail  Mesh  se(  ms  tasteless, 
iii.    Thus  is  obtaine.J  the   seventh    Beatitude-  that  is,  peace.      For 
he  alone  has  peace  at  home,    who.  by  subduin.;   the  11,.,, 
knows  how  to  taste  h.>w  ^radons  the  Lord   is 
iv.   The    seventh     reward     is     bes.owe.l-vi.. ,    .livine    adopt  on 
Kk-ssed  arc  the  peacemakers  :   for  they  shall  be  ralle.I  the 
children  of  God.'  " 


API>KNI)IX    nil.      1>A(;E    iS6. 

The  following  passage  from  St.  Augustine  is  valuable  in  this  con- 
necon  (Kp.  ad  Sixtum.  CXCIV..  ^;  .8.  Opera,  Paris.  tbSS,  Ton,  b.. 
col.  720  I')  :  ■ 

"  Just  as  no  one  is  wise  aright,  understands  aright,  prevai,  ar  ^-ht 
m  coun.sel  and  might,  no  one  is  devout  in  kuowle,lge.  no  one  (e.os 
God  w„h  spotless  fear,  unless  he  have  received  the  spirit  of  wis.b.in 
and  umlerstanding,  of  coun.sel  and  might,  of  Knowld^-e  ami  e<.,lli. 
ness  and  the  fear  of  God  ;  nor  has  anyCne  true  virtue,  sincere  b  ve 
god. fearmg  temperance,  except  by  the  spirit  of  virtue  and  love  and 
temperance  ;  so  also  without  the  spirit  of  fai.h  no  one  will  believe 
r.ghtly.  nor  without  the  spirit  of  prayer  will  one  pray  profitably       Not 


Ifl 

i  ■ 

i 

m 

'■1 

4  ii 

234 


APPENDIX. 


that  there  are  so  many  Spirits,  hut  all  this  workelh  me  and  the  self- 
same Spirit,  dividing  to  everj-  one  sevrally  as  lie  will  ;  because 
the  Spirit  ))!()weth  where  He  lisieih.  Ikit  because  wc  must  confess 
that  He  //(■//>s  i)i  ow  way  Ih-forc  iiui-.>.<ell'nii^;  in  another  way  after 
indwelling.  Kor  before  He  is  indwelling  He  helps  men  to  be  faithful  ; 
He  helps  them  when  they  are  faiihful  by  indwelling." 


APPENDIX    II.     PAGE   194. 

This  is  manifest  in  the  controversy  between  St.  Cyprian  and 
Stephen  of  Rome.  This  brought  out  the  fact  that  all  were  agreed 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  ;/('/  given  outside  the  Church. 

Hence  heretics  were  admitted  to  the  Church,  if  t  y  had  been 
validly  baptized,  only  with  unction  and  laying  on  of  hands.  In  mod- 
ern times  a  distinction  has  been  made  between  Confirmation  as  a 
sacramental  rile  and  the  reception  of  converted  heretics.  Rut  this  is 
really  only  a  differtnce  of  name.  The  words  used  are  the  same. 
Thus  the  Seventh  Canon  of  the  Second  General  Council  (Constanti- 
nople, I.,  A.n.  381),  speaking  of  certain  heretics  whose  baptism  was 
regarded  as  valid,  says  :  "  We  receive  them  if  they  give  written 
renunciation  of  their  errors  and  anathematize  every  heresy  not  of  the 
same  mind  as  the  Holy,  Catholic,  and  Apostolic  Church  of  God,  and 
being  sealed  — that  is.  anointed  first  with  holy  unction  on  forehtad,and 
eyes,  and  nostrils,  and  mouth,  and  ears,  and  sealing  them  we  fay  : 
•  The  seal  of  the  gift  of  the  Huly  Ghost.'  " 

These  are  the  words  used  at  Confirmation. 

St.  Leo  the  Great  coniinualiy  repeats  that  heretics  cannot  com- 
municate the  Holy  Spirit,  though  their  Hipiism  is  valid,  as  the  fol- 
lowing passage  will  show  : 

**  They  have  received  the  form  of  H.tptism,  therefore  they  are  not 
to  be  baptized  ;  but  they  are  to  be  joined  to  the  Cail.olics  by  the 
imposition  of  hands  ;  the  viitue  of  the  Holy  Spirit  being  invoked, 
lohich  cannot  be  received  froDi  /ie> e/ics"  (Kp.  ii..  Opera,  Paris,  1675, 
Tom.  i.,  p.  411).     This  is  quoted  by  Au.vilius  in, the  tenth  century. 


Aga 


m. 


Tht 


ptism  must  not  be  outraged  by  repetition,  only 


the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit  is  to  be  invoked,  that  ri/ujf  no  one 
reeeii'es  fuvn  heretics  may  be  obtained  from  Catholic  Hishops"  (Ep. 
cxxix.,  i-  7,  Tom.  i..  p.  688). 

See  also  Ep.  c.xxxv.,  ^  2,  i.,  p.  717. 

This  must  suffice  on  this  head. 


AJ'PKXDIX. 


235 


APPENDIX  KK.  PAGE  196. 
_  When  a  particular  gift  or  ^race  of  the  Holv  Spirit  is  pravcd  for  it 
IS  specially  named  and  thus  limited.  In  Haptism  we  pray  fo,  regen- 
eration :  "Give  Thy  Holy  Spirit  to  this  person.  tluU  h,  ,„av  be  born 
again:  ^  In  or.lination  it  is  "/.r  the  -work  of  a  Prie-a  orHishop  " 
ihere  is  no  such  limitation  in  Cf)nfirmation. 

Didymus,  the  blind  marvel  of  learning,  appointed  bv  St.  Athana- 
s.us  as  head  of  the  Catechetical  School  of  Ale.xandria,  draws  attention 
to  the  fact  that,  sometimes,  at  all  events,  the  omission  of  the  Article 
m  Greek  belo.c  "  Spirit"  shows  that  an  influence  or  gift  is  intended 
and  not  the  Personal  Presence  of  the  lioly  Spirit.  '  The  treatise  of 
D.dymus  on  the  Holy  Spirit  is  preserved  in  a  Latin  translation  by 
St.  Jerome  among  his  works  (Opera,  Verona-,  1735.  Tom  ii  col 
124).  The  same  is  referred  to  by  St.  Athanasius  himself  (Kp  ad 
berapionem,  I.,  ^-  4,  Opera.  Patavii.  Tom.  i..  pars  2.  p.  ,20).  Bishop 
M.ddleton  (on  the  Article,  ed.  Rose.  1S55.  p.  127,  on^St.  Matthew 
I  :  i>)  says  the  same  :  "  The  sacred  Writers  have  clearly,  and  in  strict 
conformity  with  the  analogy  of  language,  distinguished  the  tnjluaue 
from  the  rerson  of  the  Spirit." 


APPENDIX    LL.     PAGE   200. 

'*  The  first  great  distinction  between  God's  gifts  to  the  sou!  of  man 
divides  the  orJnuuy  from  the  ,:xfnwn/i„a,y  gifts  of  grace  The  or- 
dmarygilts  ol  grace  are  those  which  are  commonly  given  to  each 
soul  for  us  own  particular  edihcation.  The  extraordinary  gifts  are 
those  which  are  only  given  at  ce.tain  limes  and  to  certain  persons  for 
the  general  good  of  the  Church.  The  ordinary  gifts  of  grace  are 
those  which  give  spiritual  strength  and  enable  us  to  resist  temptation 
to  conquer  .in.  to  keep  our  baptismal  vows,  and  generally  to  lead  J 
Chn.tian  life"  (Benjamin  Webb.  "Instructions  and  Devotions  for 
Candidates  tor  C<)n(irmation--a  very  valuable  little  book).     See  aNo 

The  Spirit  ot  Enthusiasm  Exorcised,"  a  sermon  by  George  Ilicke^ 
D.D.  (afterward  a  Bishop  of  the  Nonjurors),  London     16S0 


APPENDIX  MM.     PAGE  200. 
There  is  now  a  strong  feeling  that  we  must  return  to  the  primitive 
teaching  about  the  truth  of  the  especial  grace  of  Confirmation-viz., 


23<5 


APPENDIX. 


fh 


■'!S? 


what  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  has  so  well  said  :  "  No  thread  of 
language  and  history  is  more  distinct  than  that  which  connects 
Christ's  promise  of  the  coming  of  the  Paraclete,  to  be  an  indwelling 
Power  in  all  His  chosen  ones,  with  the  institute  of  the  laying  on  of 
Hands  by  the  Apostles"  ("  The  Seven  Gifts,"  p.  S7).  This  was  the 
primitive  teaching,  so  that  Bishop  Cornelius  could  say  of  the  heretic, 
Novaius,  that  having  received  clinical  Baptism  in  danger  of  death,  ''  he 
did  not  receive  the  completion,  which  he  should  have  received,  accord- 
ing to  the  Canon  of  the  Church,  nor  was  he  sealed  by  the  Bishop,  but 
not  having  received  this,  /low  could  he  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost?" 
(Ap.  Euseb.,  His.  Ecc,  VI.,  43),  There  was  only  one  way  recognized 
by  the  Church. 

A  little  essay  published  in  iS3o  by  Rev.  F.  W.  Puller,  "What  is 
the  distinctive  grace  of  Confirmation?"  (Rivingtons,  London)  is 
very  valuable.     It  is  full  of  leat.iing  and  close  argument. 

In  the  Eastern  Church  anointing  with  chrism  seems  to  have 
superseded  the  Scriptural  rite  of  laying  on  of  hands  at  an  early  date. 
In  the  West,  too,  unction  has  become  regarded  as  the  important  part 
of  the  rite  ;  though  some  have  argued  that  the  necessary  touch  of  the 
finger,  in  the  anointing  in  East  and  West,  is  suthcient  "laying  on  of 
hands." 

In  the  gossipy  and  interesting  history  of  St.  Gregory  of  Tours 
(a.I).  5S0),  he  only  speaks  of  anointing  in  his  constant  reference  to 
the  reconciliation  of  Arians,  on  which  Ruinart  has  the  following  note  : 
"  Gregory  everywhere  speaks  of  the  reconciliation  of  the  Arians  by 
chrism  alone  ;  just  as  now,  in  conferring  Confirmation,  hardly  any 
mention  is  made  of  the  laying  on  of  hands,  which,  however,  is 
necessary." 

There  seems  good  evidence  that  in  the  English  Church  the  laying 
on  of  hands  was  never  dropped.  In  the  seventh  century,  we  find 
Bishop  Cuthbert,  in  the  North  of  England,  "laying  his  hand  on  the 
head  of  each  one."  In  the  eighth  centioy,  Bede  mentions  this  without 
qualification  :  "  He  ministered  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  impo- 
sition of  hands  on  those  who  had  just  been  regenerated  in  Christ" 
("  Life  of  St.  Cuthbert."  XXXII.,  ed.  Giles,  vol.  iv.,  p.  30b).  A  manu- 
script service  book  of  the  Church  of  England,  written  in  the  eleventh 
century  (preserved  in  the  library  of  Sidney-Sussex  College,  Cam- 
bridge, G.  B.),  expressly  directs  the  Bishop  to  lay  hands  on  each  can- 
didate. Two  centuries  after,  Wiclif  refers  to  Confirmation  in  a 
manner  which  implies  (or  has  been  held  to  imply)  that  laying  on 
of  hands  was  the  practice  in  his  day.     Two  hundred  years  later  "  tlie 


s-.fc»i:-*«*^wJii:;jiti»x,'aB  Ji  iia'iW.: 


APPENDIX, 


^17 


kmg  s  Book."  in  1543,  shows  the  sane.  "  The  holy  fathers  of  the 
primitive  Church,  taking  occasion  and  founding  themselves  upon  the 
sa,d  acts  and  deeds  of  the  Apostles.  ...  did  use  and  obse.TL  i 
hath  been  hitherto  by  succession  0/ ages  coniinueJ)  that  all  Chr  stian 
people  shoud.  after  their  baptism,  be  presented  to  their  bisho  to 
e  .ntent  that  by  their  prayers  and  Unposition  of  O.ir  n.J^l 
If  ;  ■  •  ,  vr    r        "  '^°"fi''"^'^-"     I"  ^549  the  first  Prayer-Hook 

the^  h'h    .y      ^.T'  ''"'  ^'^  '^''^'^P  ^^'-''^   "  ^^y  his  hand  upon 
the.    heads,     and  this  is  continued  to  the  present  day  among  us. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  decline  of  true  teaching  about 

i^v°  nfr' n"  r"'  K"""'"''  ^'""^  ''''  carelessness  and  lack  oi  activ- 
ty  o    the  B.shops,     This  carelessness  spread  to  the  people    and  the 
result  was  that  the  sober  Philip  Melanchthon  could  call  the  rite  ''otiocl 
ca.remon,a.        But  when  he  said  that  in  primitive  times  Confirmation 
was  nothing  more  than  a  catechizing  of  those  that  had  been  baptized 
as  infants,  he  ma^ie  a  perfectly  groundless  statement.     He  seems' to 
have  misunderstood  a  Canon  of  the  first  Council  of  Aries  (a  n    3,4) 
and  one  of  Laodicea  (?  a.o.  320),  both  of  which  are  about   there 
ception  into  the  Church  of  conveited  heretics  ;  they  were  to  be  openlv 
.atech,^ed  about  their  errors.     Of  the    modern  popular   view,    that 
Confirmation  is  a  ratifying   of   baptismal  vows.    riL.  is  sor   niK 
su(urr..:sT  TRACE  t„  uk  roLXD  in  Christian  Anti.-uitv  •  it  must' 
therefore  be  erroneous.     What  is  new  is  not  tkuk;  am,  wiir 

TRUE  IS  NOT  NI'.W. 

underTh'""  '"  '"'  '''  ""''"'  '''"''''''  '''  ^^^«  ^'^'^'^  ^°  ^vriters 
under  the  various  centuries. 

Fir.|  Ccillnry.     (.Acts    S  .-17  ;    19:6).     "  Ever  after    in    the 
letters  of  the  Apostles  such  is  the  frequency  of  verbal  and   phrase 
ological  al  usion  to  the  custom,  that,  as  a  scholar  once  remarked  to 
n^e      Confirmation   seems   more    present   to    the   earliest    Christian 
habits  of  thought  than  Baptism  itself  "  (Archbishop  Benson   of  Can 
terbury,  "  The  Seven  Gifts,"  1SS5.  p.  87). 

It  has  been  doi.bted  by  some  whether  in  the  beautiful  story  of  St 
John  and  the  young  robber.  Confirmation  is  referred  to  ;  but  as 
Euseb.us  relates  the  story,  and  as  St.  Clement  of  Ale.xandria  seems 
to  use  uie  word  sea/  of  Confirmation,  and  as  the  epithet  per/ecr 
^r./.-voi)  is  commonly  used  of  Confirmation,  there  cannot  be  much 
doubt  that  we  are  not  wrong  in  claiming  the  passage  for  Confirma- 

"  The  Bishop  took  the  young  man  home.  fed.  disciplined,  fostered 
him,  and  at  length  baptized  him.     After  this  he  relaxed  his  excessive 


238 


Al'I'EXDIX. 


f  •^■' 


i  ki 


■  fe£ 


care  of  hiiri,  as  he  had  Ijestowed  upon  him  the  perfect  preservative, 
the  SiwI  o{  the  Lord  "(Eiisubius  (|uoting  St.  Clement  of  Alexandiia, 
Eccl.  Hist,,  III  ,  23,  ed.  IKiniciun,  1S27,  Torn,  i.,  p,  232). 

A  fragment  referred  to  St.  Clement  of  Rome  probably  belongs  to 
hitn  of  Alexandria,  but  even  so  the  reference  to  Confirmation  is 
douljtful  (St.  Clement,  ed.  Lightfoot,  i..  p.  220). 

St'<'J>IMl  Ci'eillliry.  "  Tne  woman  begged  of  him,  saying: 
'Apostle  of  the  Most  High,  give  me  the  seal,  that  the  foe  may 
not  come  back  upon  me  again.  '  Then  he  made  her  come  near  him, 
and  putting  his  luind  upon  Ju),  he  sealed  her  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  cf  the  Sjn,  and  of  tliL*  Holy  Ghost,"  Apocryphal  Acts  of 
the  Ap.  TItJiiias.  This  probably  refers  to  Baptism  and  Confirrnation 
together,  as  is  often  the  case.  The  Presbyterian  Dr.  Dale  refers  to 
this  and  other  places  as  being  liand-baptism  without  water  I  {('hrislir 
Baptism,  p.  115  ;  Juhannic  Baptism^  pp.  221,  222). 

A.D.  iSo.  "  What  work  has  cither  oinameiit  or  beauty,  unless  it 
be  anointed  and  burnished?  The  air  and  all  that  is  unJer  heaven  is 
in  a  certain  sort  anointed  by  light  and  spirit  ;  and  are  you  unwilling 
to  be  anointed  with  the  oil  of  God  ?  We  are  called  Christians  on  this 
account,  because  we  are  anointed  with  the  oil  of  God"  (Theophilus 
of  Antioch  to  Aulolycus,  Claik's  A.  N.  Lib.,  p.  62). 

A.D.  196.  Tertullian  has  many  passages  to  the  point.  "  Not  that 
in  the  water  (of  Baptisii;)  we  oLt.iin  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  in  the 
water,  under  the  influence  of  the  angel,  we  are  cleansed,  and  thus 
prepared  for  the  Holy  Spirit.  .  .  .  In  the  next  place  hand  is  laid  on 
U-,  iiiv  iking  and  inviting  the  Holy  Ghost.  .  .  .  Then  that  most  Holy 
Spirit  gladly  descends  from  the  Father  upi-m  our  cleansed  and  blessed 
bodies.  .  .  .  Nur  is  this  without  the  supporting  evidence  of  a  fore- 
going type.  For  just  as  after  the  waters  of  the  deluge,  by  which 
ancient  inicjuity  was  purged  away,  after  the  baptism  (so  to  speak)  of 
the  world,  a  dove  was  the  herald  which  announced  to  the  world  the 
peace  of  heavenly  wrath,  sent  forth  from  the  ark  and  returning  with 


)live 


so  by  the  law  of  heavenly  effect  to  earth  (that  is,  our  flesh) 


emerging  from  the  font  after  its  old  sins,  the  dove  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
flies,  bringing  the  peace  of  God"  (De  Haptismo.  cap.  S.,  Opera,  ed. 
Oehler,  i.,  p.  627). 


Ag 


am. 


The  liesh  is  the  very  hinge  of  salvation. 


The  flesh 


is  shadowed  by  the  imposition  of  hand,  that  the  soul  may  be  illumi- 
nated by  the  Spirit"  (De  Resur.  Carnis,  cap.  S,  ed.  Oehler,  ii.,  p.  47S). 

Tllird   4'oiltlll'y.     Ori^en,  l)')rn  \.\k  I'^5,  died  A.n.  254. 

"  In   the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  was  given  in 


■•Hi 


AI'PEXDIX. 


239 


B.p...m  by  :he  lay.ng  on  of  the  Apostles'  hands"  (De  Prinripiis,  I 
....  ^  2,  Opera.  Pans.  ,733.  Ten.  i.,  p.  6,).     This  is  often  ,unted    see 

aalt.      IlereCunfirrnat.on  .s  regarded  as  par.  of  Baptism.     So,  again 

p ;;  ^:::;:t'  r '"'  '"-^'"'^  '^  ""-^^-^  ^'^«  ^^  ^' ■•'- : 

of     he  (,%''"•         "•  "■•  '^^  ''"^'-   "^"°^d"'«  to  ,he  tradition 
oMhe  Church  we  are  all  baptised   in   visible  water  and  w,th  visible 

A.D.  250      St.  Cyprian  is  full  of  reference  to  the  effect  of  Confuma- 
One^or  two  passages  are  quoted  and  references  given  toother  pas- 
Speaking  of  the  confirming  of  the  Samaritans  (Acts  S)    he  s-ivs 
that  as  they  had  been  properly  baptized.  '«  that  which  w.s  lacking  wa^ 
done  by  Peter  and  John,  that  prayer  bein,  offered  for  them    and    he 
hand   la,d   on    them,  the   Holy  Spirit  should    be   invoked   and   p on     d 
upon  ,hem.      Wh.ch  now  also  ,s  done  among  us.   that  .hey  wh       re 
ba   t..ed  H,  the  Church  are  presented  to  those  set  over  the  Churc 
and  by  our  prayer  and   laying  on  of  hands  receive  the   Holy  Spin" 
and  are /.^.,../  .vich  the  .../  of  the   Lo^d"   (Kp.  l..iii.,  ,   .  jf       ' 

1720  p.      132).  I  I.        i      €.11   J-l, 

Again,  "If  they  attribute  the  effect  of   P..p!ism  to  the  Majesty  of 
he  Name.  Why  is  not.  in  the  nan.e  of  the  same  Chnst  the    and 

lu.  1  on  the  bap.,.ed  that  he  may  receive  the  Hulv  Spiri,  >        '       More 
over,  a  man  is  not  born  by  laying  on  of  hands" when  he  receives  the 

n  7h     fi      T',       "''-■  '"'''''  "■'  ""'y  ^^P'^'^'  J"^^  ^*«  ^vas  in  ,he  cast 

of  the  firs    Adam.     For  fi.st  God  formed  him.  and  then  brea.hed    no 

■  s   nostnls  the  breath   of  l,fe.       For   the   Spirit  cannot   be  receil 

unless  the   recover  first   have  an   existence''  (Paris,    .y.,,    pp"';;' 

^^See  also  Ep.  Ixx..  Paris,   1726,  p.  125  ;  Ixxii..  Ixxii.,  pp.  t2S,  r36, 

St.  FirmiPan   in  answer  to  St  Cyprian,  argues  preciselv  in  the  same 
manner.     H,s  letter  is  amo.g  .he   Ppisfes  of  St.  Cyprian  (Ep.  Ixv 
Pans,  1726,  pp.  145-47).  P'-\.\v., 

A.D.  231.  St.  Cornelius  of  Rome,  in  a  ri-cular  letter  about  the 
heret.c  Novatus.  wr.tes  :  "  He  f.  11  into  a  gri.vnus  sickness,  and  being 
thought  moribund,  he  was  bap.i.ei  on  the  bed  where  h  lav  i"u 
w  en  he  recovered  he  did  not  receive  the  rest  whi.h  he  shou-d  he 
rece.ved.  according  ,0  the  Canon  of  the  Church,  nor  was  he  sealed  b- 


'  1 


If*' 


i  i  ■■ 

.  ji  t  ■: 

1!  'e 

1:1     ^ 

240 


APPENDIX. 


ihu  Hishop.     But  not  having  received  this,  how  could  he  receive  the 
Ho'y  Sp'rit  ?"  (preservsd  by  Eiisebius  Eccl.  Hist.,  VI.,  xliii). 

A.D.  25r)(ibout).  In  an  anonymous  tract  on  the  question  of  reb  ip- 
tism,  preserved  among  the  works  of  St.  Cyprian,  the  following  pas- 
sages occur;  but  the  whole  treatise  is  valuable  and  worth  realing, 
an]  takes  for  granted  thit  the  Holy  Spirit  is //c^/ given  in  Baptism, 
but  in  Conftrination  :  "  Whether  in  some  respect  he  halts  when  he  is 
bapt'zed  with  the  biptism  of  water,  which  is  of  less  account,  provided 
that  afterward  a  sincere  faitli  in  the  truth  is  evidenced  in  the  Biptism 
of  the  Sp'rit,  wiiich  is  !iii,/i)ii'>/i'c//y  of  greater  account ;''  i.e.,  Confirma- 
tion. "  We  ought  only  to  help  them  with  the  Baptism  of  the  Spirit  — 
that  is,  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hand  of  the  Bishop,  and  the  supplying 
the  Holy  .Spirit."  "  By  the  laying  of  the  hand  of  the  Bishop  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  given  to  each  bL'liever,  as  the  Apostles  did  to  the  Samaritans 
after  Philip's  l^aptism,  and  by  this  means  conveyed  to  thetn  ihe  Holy 
Spirit"  (Cypriani,  Opera,  Paris,  pp.  353-55.  3^^!.  etc). 

F4»lirtll  Ci'iiliiry.  Very  full  evidence  is  to  be  found  in  this 
century. 

A.D.  305.  Co  Elvira,  Can.  xxxviii.  Incases  of  necessity,  a  fiith- 
lul  layman  (who  is  properly  baptized  and  not  twice  married)  may 
bap'ize  ;  but  if  the  man  survive,  he  must  bring  him  to  the  Bishop,  that 
by  laying  on  of  hands  he  may  be  perfected  (Canones,  ed.  Bruits,  ii., 
p.  7  ;   Labbei  Cone,  Tom.  i.,  col.  974). 

A.D.    314.      Co.  Aries,  I.,  Can.  viii.      If  any  one  comes  to  the 
Chf.rch  from  heresy,  they  ask  him  his  creed  ;  and  if  they  find  him  to 
have  been  baptized  in  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  only  let  hand 
be  laid  on  him,  that  he  may  receive  the  Holy  Spirit  {Bruiis,  ii.,  io3) 
-See  also  Co.  Laodicea,  Can.  vii.,  xlviii. 

A.D  347.  St,  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  like  many  others  of  the  fathers, 
often  includes  Confirmation  under  Baptism  ;  as  the  Benedictine  ed- 
itor points  out. 

Catechesis  Lect.,  xviii.,  j;  33,  "  You  shall  hear  first  about  what  is 
done  directly  before  Baptism  ;  and  then  how  you  were  cleansed  from 
your  sins  by  the  Lord,  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the  Word  :  and 
how  in  priestly  fashion  ye  are  made  partakers  of  the  title  of  Christ  ; 
and  how  the  seal  was  given  you  of  the  Communion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  ;  and  about  the  mysteries  in  the  altar  of  the  New  Covenant" 
(Opera,  Paris,  1720,  p.  301). 

Catechesis  Lect.,  xxi.  "  You  became  Christ's  when  you  received  the 
antitype  of  the  Holy  Spirit  {i.e,,  sacred  oil  or  chrism),  and  all  things 
happened  to  you  in  an  image,  since  you  are   the   image  of  Christ 


AITEXDIX, 


241 


He,  Indeed,  was  baptized  in  tho  river  fordan  •   ir.  .=        1    , 

waters  ;  then  the  descent  of  the      oiySp  ri    loll   T       'r''''  "" 

on  like.     To  you  also  in  like  manne     X  \  ^'^^-''^e  resting 

all   roughness  being  dlsmisse7l  1  1  ''''' ''"''^ 

A.D.  ,,70.     ,.ac,a„,  Mishop  o,  Hariio'na:  '     ■""•  '^  "'•'■ 

Might  the  Apostles  alone  bind  and  ioosp^     Th«„  ,. 
f^aptize.  they  alone  give   the   Ilolv  Snirirl'     ^f  ^" '^'^^  ^'""^ '"-ght 
of    the    Gentiles     becan.r.h       ^  ^  ^      '      ^^ ''°"'  ^"''S^  ""•«  ^'■"-'' 
Apostles  If  rri  '°""''"'    ''"'   «"'^"    ^°    "^"^   l^^t 

See  also  Sermon  on  Haptism,  Migne.  col.  ux,^. 
^'\v'u  ^'■^^^'"'''  Hishop  of  Milan. 

and  understanding    the  Smrlr     f  P"" '^  "f^^^-J.  'he  Spirit  of  wisdom 

SP.U  o,  ^no„,e7g;i?f;::^irs::  .e"s;t:;'L;7er;'  ■" 

i6 


242 


Ai'ri;N])i.\. 


m 


t 


'■  ii 


't }. 


m. 


(It  will  be  observed  that  these  two  passages  cover  the  prayer  of 
Confirmation,  which  has  come  down  to  us  from  his  time.  This  is  of 
the  essence  of   Confirmation,  j 

See  also  De  Mystcriis,  cap.  7,  Tom.  ii.,  col.  336  ;  De  Sancto  Spirilu 
I.,  viii.,  >  1)1),  Tom.  ii.,  col.  fii<;. 

Ambrosi.ister.     In  Hebrews '1  ;  3. 

'W.ityii!^  I'll  iij  hands,  by  whicli  it  is  believed  tlie  Holy  Spirit  can  be 
received  ;  which  after  IJaptism  is  wont  to  be  done  by  Hishops  for  the 
Confirmation  of  unity  in  tlie  Church  of  Christ." 

I  This  is  quoted  by  Kishop  Jeremy  Taylor  (Works,  ed.  Eden,  vol.  v., 
p.  6-14)  and  Hingham  ("  Anticiuities,"  XII.,  iii..  ^  ^),  by  Hisliop  Charles 
Wordsworth,  of  St.  Andrew's  ("  Mending  of  N'ets,"  p.  15),  and  iiy 
Sainte-IJeuve  (De  Sicramentis,  Paris,  lOSO,  p.  130)  and  some  others. 
I  have  not  been  able  to  verify  it.] 

The  passauje  is  incorporated  in  the  commentary  of  Primasius  (.\.i'. 
550J  on  Hebrews  6. 

A.D.  37(j.     Si.  Jerome,  priest. 

[It  has  been  said  that  toward  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  trust- 
WMrthy  tradition  in  some  points  was  dying  out.  In  arguing  against 
Helvidius,  the  impetuous  Jerome  invented  his  argument,  and,  as  Hishop 
Ligiilfoot  points  out,  he  is  not  consistent  to  liis  own  theory 
("  Galatians,"  0th  ed.,  p.  251;).  In  his  treatise  against  the  Luciferians 
he  exhi!)its  much  youthful  impetuosity,  and  ([uotes  as  Scripture  a  text 
of  infinitesimal,  if  any  authority,  which  he  has  not  admitted  into  his 
own  text,  in  order  to  gain  a  point  against  his  adversary.] 

He  introduces  the  Lucifcrian,  asking,  "  Don't  you  know  that  this  is 
the  custom  of  the  Churches,  that  on  the  baptized  hands  are  afterward 
laid,  and  so  the  Holy  Spirit  is  invoked?" 

St.  Jerome  answers,  "  I  deny  not  that  this  is  the  custom  of  the 
Churches,  that  to  those  who  have  been  baptized  by  Priests  and 
Deacons,  at  a  distance  from  larger  towns,  the  Hishops  go  out  to  lay 
on  hands  for  the  invocation  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  He  acknowledges 
the  custom,  but,  he  argues,  What  of  thcjse  who  die  before  they  are 
Confirmed?  "  Percliance  the  eunuch  must  be  believed  to  be  without 
the  Holy  Spirit,  because  he  was  baptized  by  Philip  the  Deacon,  of  whom 
the  Scripture  says,  '  They  went  down  both  of  them  into  the  water. 
And  when  they  went  away  from  the  water  the  Holy  Spirit  came  on  the 
eunuch.'  " 

[This  interpolation  is  clearly  to  meet  a  difUculty  about  which  there 
has  been  continual  discussion  ;  and  the  safest  determination  arrived 
at  is,  that  while  Bishops  are  bound  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  confer 


\*^f*  •*i»'^.jrtr.' 


*^m^mmn»hm^iinfi^k 


.\i'ri:xi)ix. 


^4.^ 


Ihe  ,ra..,  atvl  w,;i  be  hcl,l  responsible  for  culp,.blc  or  rarel.  ^. 
ne«  ect  ;  yet  wc-  .lo  nol  believe  that  God  will  pnnsl,  the  (.nthful  for  the 
carelessness   of    His  Minister.      The  d.m.uUv  w.s  soo„  felt  •  and  th 

^     o.theCo.„,,.nof,.:,virau.,,.3o5).etit:.Mfad. 
Rector  and   have  baptixed   any  in  the  absence  of  Jiishop  or  priest    the 
B.shop   „H,st  /../,./  them  by  benediction  ;   but  If   the/ die  fus,',  c.rU 
m.\   I'^Jtisuh.'.i  under  the  faith  he  professed."! 
A.I).  3S0.      r)..m  .sus.  Ibshop  of  Rome,  the  p  .tron  ,  f  St.  Jerome, 
t  ..s  the  Mb  •eah.ne  of  the  Apostles  and  their  successors  to  «ive 
'e    Holy   Sp,r,t.       .   .      Not   one  of   the  seventy  disciples  is  read  t. 
u  c  «u-en  the  ,,ft  of  the  IKdy  ..pi.i^    by  .he  imposU.on   of  hands" 
(^P-  v.,  Labbei,  11.,  ?,~t)), 

A.n  3Sr.  Co.  Con^ant.,  I..  Can.  ^ii.  Quoted  above,  p.  .,, 
A.fK  yjo.  St.  Chry.osto.-n  has  several  pas.sa.es,  gcnerallv  rhetori- 
cab  Here  .s  one.  I  avmg  spoken  of  .St  Paul's  ,ayin,  hands  on  tlu- 
E  hes.ans.  he  .says  :  "  IletKe  is  displayed  a  «reat  do^..  tha,  ,hev 
who  are  bnpt.ed  are  perfectly  cleansed  from  sin.  For  had  thev  noc 
be  n  cleansed  they  would  not  have  received  the  Spi.it,  thcv  wm;M 
not  have  been  thought  imme.iiately  worthy  of  the  KUts,"  Then  ui,h 
personal  application,  he  says  :  -  We  have  received  remission  o"  sins 
sanct.ficafon.  parfcpation  in  the  Spirit,  adoption,  life  eternal  What 
more    ].  ,i,,,     S^^,^,,,     Hut  they  are  done  away.      Vou  ha.x' 

a,th.  hope,  chat.ty.  which  remain  :  seel,  these,  they  are  greater  than 
si^ns     (Horn,  in  Act.,  xl..  ^'  2,  Tom.  i.x.,  33,;,. 

A.D.  3<)5-      Prulentius,  the  beautiful    Spanish  poet,  has  continual 
reference   ,0  the  chrism   traced  with  oil  on  the  forehead  .rivmn 
gomg  to  sleep.   ..    1.5  :  Arevali.  Tom.   i..   30;;  Apotheosis,  i  ,  ,,- 
P^ychomach.a.    353,    ii.,    Gvj  ;    Contra    Symmachum.    !..     5,.;,    i,' 

iiVihivutUvy.     A.D.  402.     Innocentius  I.     "  Rut  about  seal- 

u,,Mnfants    u  .s  clear  that  it  must  not   be  done  by  any  but  a  Hish- 

op.      Tor    though    presbyters  are    priests,   they    have    not    the  hi.h- 

pr.esthood.      Hut  that  this  should    only    be    <ione    by    Hisho^s      hat 

hey  euher  seal  or  hand  on  the  Holy  Paraclete,    not  onlv   L     u 

Tost^  \  r'  ''''""''  '"'  ^'^"  '''  P'-^^-^^'  -  ^'-  Acts  of  tl 
Apostles  wh.ch  says  that  Peter  and  John  were  directed  to  hand  on 
the  Holy  Sp.ru  to  those  who  had  been  already  baptised"  (Labbei.  ii.. 

[This  passage  is  continually  quoted  and  incorporated  in  the  writ 
.ngs  of  Theodulf  of  Orleans.   Alcuin,  Magnus  o'f  Sens    etc      in  t  e 
eighth  and  ninth  centuries.]  ■  <-ic--.   m  the 


f'Krttif.-iir'afmtnaemmr  rfMoumnm  .■ 


s    Hi 


i       I 


-'44 


AI'rKN'DIX. 


A.D.  405.  St.  Aiigustint'.  As  we  should  expect,  there  art-  many 
rclcrciK  cs  in  many  ways  to  Cuiitirmatdn. 

"  Wno  now  expects  lliis,  that  they  on  whom  hand  is  l.ii'I,  that  they 
may  receive  the  Holy  Gho^t,  should  inimedialely  speak  with  tonj^ues  ' 
No  ;  but  invisibly  and  secretly  the  love  o[  God  is  understood  to  be 
inspired  in  their  hearts  on  account  of  the  bond  of  peace"  (I)e  Hap. 
(.'on.  Donat.,  III.,  xvi.,  ;;  21,  Tom.  ix.,  col.  1 16|.  Tlu-  same  argument 
i^  repeated  in  F.p.  Joh.,  cap.  4,  Tract  vi.,  ^  10,  Tom.  iii,,  pars  2, 
t  ol.  S53.     See  also  Dc  Trin.,  Lib.  xv.,  ,^  J^d,  Tom.  viii.,  col.  t)i)i),  etc 

A.U.  440.     St.  Isidore  of  Pelusium. 

I'hillp,  that  converie.l  the  S.imarilans,  was  not  an  .\postlc,  "for 
IV-ler  and  John,  the  Apostles,  went  down  from  Jerusalem,  and  con- 
veyed to  ilicni  the  grace  of  the  I  loly  S|)irit.  .  .  .  lie  hnpii/es  as  a 
disciple,  jjut  liic  Ajjoslies  complete  the  grace,  for  to  them  was  granted 
tne  power  to  bestow  so  great  a  gift"   (  Ep.  i..  450,  Paris,  i(>}^,  p.  214). 

A.!).  450.  Anonymous  commentary  on  St.  Matthew  in  St.  Chrys- 
oslom's  works,  Toin.  vi.,  p.  770,  In  this  there  is  the  following 
sinking  passage  ; 

"lie  that  lias  not  been  so  baptized  as  to  be  thought  worthy  to 
receive  the  Holy  (ihost,  has  indeed  been  baptized  in  body,  and  his 
sins  have  b'.'en  forgiven,  but  in  soul  he  is  a  catechumen.  For  it  is 
thus  written,  '  He  that  hath  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is  none  of  His  ;  ' 
because  the  Ib.'sh  puts  forth  worse  sins  afterward,  since  he  has  not 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  him,  preserving  him,  but  the  Temple  of  his  body  is 
empty.  Afterward  that  Spirit  fmding  the  house  empty  and  swept 
with  doctrines  of  faiiii,  as  with  brooms,  he  enters  there  in  sevenfold 
]>ovver,  and  ilwells  there,  since  words  of  faith,  which  we  call  l)rooms, 
cleanse  from  ignorance,  but  not  from  sins  or  lusts." 

Si.  Leo  I.  has  many  passages,  some  of  which  have  been  given  in 
-Appendix  II.,  page  234. 

A.I).  450,     Ciennadius.  .Archbishop  of  Constantinople. 

"  When  they  believe,  they  are  baptized  ;  when  they  have  been  bap- 
tized, they  submit  to  the  laying  on  of  hands  of  the  Hishop,  for  the 
participation  of  the  Spirit.  .  .  .  Watch,  then  ;  for  if  you  live  care- 
lessly you  may  not  be  baptized  again,  and  again  receive  the  Holy 
Spirit  by  ihe  laying  on  of  hands"  (preserved  in  (Lcumenius,  in  Ep, 
ad  Hcb.,  Opera,  Parisii=.  1631,  Tom.  ii.,  p.  355). 

Ni\|ll  l'eilllir,V*     A.I).  550.     Primasius,  liishop  of  Adrur^ietun 
commenting  on  Hebrews    13  :  25,  incorporates  the  saying  ,rn 

given  above,  "  The  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  given  in  Hapt:  y  the 

laying  on  of  hands  of  the  Hishop"  (.Migne,  col.  71)4). 


I, ' 


Ai'i'i:\i)i\. 


•^45 


A.D.  590.     St.  Gregory  the  Great. 
"  By  us  indeed  the  faithful  come  to  IIolv  fLnric,.,    . 
arc  .hey  b,.,,.,.  „.,  „„  ,,,.;„„  „„  ,„  ,.1';'    ,     '",    "el^'^.TirT 

s.rr '':,';:;■''■'■•'■  ""-  -^^  ■»'■— .fse.„. ,,„. 

"Just  .1,  in  rtaplism  remission  of  sins  i<  ..iven    so  i„  !•„  ,■ 
sanctiHciion  „f   ihe  Spirit    is  a„„li,.,l      Th„    ,  """  ""■' 

.ha.  .he  Holy  s„iri,,  Invo.    |   ,       '       b,e  sinrTvT  "  "•"""  " 
come.     For  .hen  .ha.  ,■„,„  le.e  vv,„in«lv  „„:i:  ,r ';.'/" 

orcein- -;:■«------'■ .-::.:  :::'^7 

This  pas.s;ige  is  a  retnini.s.ence  of  Tertu'Iiin    n^  i'     ,• 
above.  *^""  "'^"-  tie  M  iptismo,  (|uotcd 

.a;;:':,.:':;;r.xr'Kn  ^r;"^ '" '"^•■- -^ 

A.n;.S,..     Arc„.ish„„The.,.,'„re!'oVc:,;2:r  "■'"'■ 

above"*  ;;t,.  "■  ''"'"'"'       '"  "="'•'  "'=  "'  -^^  '^"•l"-".  as  .-.ed 
„|;""""    «■"■"•■■•)■.      A.O.    ;ao.      VeneralJe    Bede    ,,,,,,    ,,^3. 

"  Mad  Philip  |,een  an  Apcslle  he  could  have  laid  his  hm,l  on    ,h  , 
.hey    might    receive    .he    Holy  Chos,    for  this  is  .h 

Bishops  only  .  .  ,   pries.s  ma    no,  s™,      e      Ue    ^  iXh'^" 
been  b.  p„„d      torn,  on  Acs  8,  ed.  Giles.  Tom,  xii,,  ,,). 

A-iJ    7jO.      Isaac,  Hishop  of  Langres 

^;d'b;3r?^:c;::-:rirr;:::;t:r--5 

(Cin.  Tit.,  .K,..  Can.  .xii.,  Libbei.  viii..  col.  ^^3) 

.02^'^x"^-''    .^'':";"^"°'^^^hesayi„,.of  Innocent  .,uotH  above    .  :. 

4')2.      Again,  m  his  letter  to  Charlemav^ne-  "  When  the  xvhh.  o 

are  taken  from   the  baptised,  it  is  fi.Hn,  that  t^v^  tin,::;; 


2^6 


AI'I'KMMX. 


'  '-'I 


^ 


IVilllll  <'ei!llliry.  In  this  century  almost  all  the  statements 
al)oul  Coiilirtnalioii  are  liiilc  more  ih.iii  the  ripi'tilion  of  what  ha-: 
heen  said  before.  Thecdiilf  of  Oriean?  (in  St.  ('rcg.,  Mag.  Oper., 
I'aiis,  1705,  Tom.  iii..  rol.  370)  writes  almost  in  same  words  as 
Magnus,  A.r'hljishop  of  Sens,  in  liis  Idler  to  Chailemagne  (Maitene 
lie  Riiiltus,  i.,  ds). 

A.D.  81J.  Jes-;e,  Bishop  of  Amiens,  writes  (F,p.  de  H.ipti«mo 
«jallaudi,  xiii.,  p.  400)  :  "  Alter  this  let  the  llishop  confirm  him  wiiii 
chrisin  on  the  forehead.  Aid  layin:j;  on  of  liand  it,  ihen  conftried. 
so  that  the  Holy  .Spirit,  tu-ing  invoked  and  invited  hy  benedicliun, 
may  descend  upon  tliem." 

A.D.  S2(>  Co.  Paris,  VI.,  (luoies  the  Homily  of  St.  Gregory  the 
(Jreat.  cited  above. 

A.D.  830.  Jonas,  liishop  of  Orleans.  "  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
teach  us  that  it  appertains  to  the  IJishop  alone  to  give  the  Holy 
Cihost  to  the  faiiiiful  by  the  laying  on  of  hands" 

(Lib.  1.,  De  Insiiiut.  Cleric,  cap.  7.  Ouoted  by  Drouvcn,  De  Re 
.Sicrainuntaria.  i  ,  p.  299). 

Ti'iilll  4'rilliiry.  A.D.  007.  Au.xilius  quotes  from  St.  Leo  I. 
as  above  (.Xsseman.  Codf  \  Liturglcus,  Tom.  viii.,  p.  232). 

A.[).  <))■■).  Council  of  Pt)itier-;,  Can.  ii.:  "That  no  Hishop  receive 
or  reipiire  fees  for  absolution,  nor  for  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  unless 
a  man  make  an  offeiing  with  a  willing  mind"  (Labbei,  i.x.,  col.  781). 

A.D.  i)_'4.  Atto,  Hlshop  of  \'ercell;i.',  ([uotes  the  passage  from  Am- 
brosiastcr,  as  above. 

I'j|<'%'t'lllll  i'flllliry.     'riie  teaching  begins  to  weaken. 

A.D.  1050.  Ivo,  Hishop  of  Chartrcs.  "  By  the  sign  of  the  Cross 
those  who  have  been  b.ipti/ed  receive  gifts  of  grace  by  the  laying  on 
ot  hands"  (Sermon,  Sli.  Aug..  Opera,  Tom.  v.,  Appendix,  col.  407). 
Again:  "Ye  have  received  spiritual  armor  against  invisible  foes  by 
the  laying  on  of  hands"  (Opera,  1^147,  Ti)m.  ii.,  p.  263). 

A.D.  M57.  Peter  Dmiian.  "In  Piptism  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
given  for  pardon,  in  Contirtnalion  for  tight"  (cit.  Sainle-I!i.uve,  De 
Sacramentis,  p.  iw'j). 

A.D.  I(j7o.  Lunfranc,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  "They  must 
be  bapfi/ed  for  the  remission  of  sins,  with  a  view  to  receive  the  gifts 
of  the  .Spirit  ;  must  be  perfected  by  the  laying  on  of  hands  of  the 
Hishop"  (Dupin,  vol.  ix.,  p.  12). 

Tu'Oltlll  4't'lilliry.     A.D.  1135.     Rupertus  Abbas. 

"  This  is  peculiar  to  Hishops  alone,  that  they  seal  and  hand  on  the 
Spirit    Paraclete,  which    not    only  does  the  custom    of    the    Church 


.. « ■  *■>  J  ;*j%s  v'^;s(wn«*4*k«#,fe> 


AI'I'KXDIX. 


24; 


show,  buL  also  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,"  (juoting  Acts  S  and  ii^ 
(Hittnrpius,  Ron  ;i',  1511,  p.  52j). 

A.I).  n.i'>.     Hugh  of  St.  \'iclor. 

"Since  in  Baptism  there  was  given  full  forgiveness  of  ^ins,  what 
does  Confirmation  give?  In  Baptism  the  Spirit  is  given  for  forgive- 
ness, in  Conlirmation  for  strength.  Without  this  a  man  can  be  saved 
if  he  does  not  decline  it  through  contempt"  (De  Sacramcntis,  cap. 
22  ;  Hittorpius,  p.  7"M 

TIlirUH'illll  Ccillliry.      A. I)    i2')4.     Innocent  III. 

"  Bv  the  anointing  of  the  fc^rehead  the  imposition  of  hand  is  be- 
tokened, which  is  also  called  Confirmr.tion,  because  by  it  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  given  for  increase  and  strength.  This  none  but  the  chief 
priest  (that  is,  the  Bishop  1  may  give  ;  since  we  read  of  Aposlks  only 
(of  whom  the  Bishops  are  \icarsi  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  given  by 
the  laying  on  of  hands"  (Decretal,  Lib.  i.,  'lit.  xv.,  cap.  i  ;  Corpus 
Jur.  Cas.,  Boehmcr,  Tom.  i.,  col.  114). 

A.D.  12511.      Innocent  I\'. 

"  Bishops  alone  may  seal  the  baptized  on  the  forehead,  because  the 
anointing  should  noi  be  offered  but  by  the  Bishop,  since  the  Apostles 
alone  (whose  place  the  Bishops  fill  I  are  read  to  have  given  the  Holy 
Ghost  by  the  laying  on  of  hand,  which  Confirmation  or  anointing  of 
the  foreliead  represents"  (I.abbei,  .\i.,  col.  di;,). 

A.I).  1270.     St.  Thomas  of  .\(|uinum. 

Confirmation  "  is  to  be  given  even  to  those  who  are  at  the  point  of 
death,  that  in  the  resurrection  they  may  appear  peifccl"  (Summa, 
pars  3,  (1.,  l.x.\ii..  S). 

A.I).  12-^').     Durandus,   Bishop  of  Mende. 

"After  Baptism  there  follows  the  Spiritual  seal — that  is,  Confirma- 
tion, which  is  when  the  Holy  Spirit  is  outpoured  at  the  invoking  of  the 
H'shop.  .  .  .  In  Confirmation,  the  fulness  of  the  mystery  of  the  Chris- 
tian Religion  is  fulfilled.  Tor  in  B.i[)iisin  remission  of  sins  is  given 
/m' the  lioly  Spirit.  Here,  however,  the  Spirit  Himself  is  invited  to 
come,  that  He  may  vouchsafe  to  descend  into  the  heaif  which  He  has 
sanctified,  and  dwell  there,  and  He  is  infused  at  the  invocation  of 
the   Bishop,"  (Rationale,  \'I.  Ixxxiv..  ?!  1,  2,  I-ugfluni,   I5'"4,  fo.  r/17). 

A.D.  12S1.      Archbistiup  I'cckham,  of  Canterbury. 

"  Many  neglect  Conlirmation  for  want  of  watchful  advisers  ;  so 
that  there  are  many  who  lack  the  grace  of  Confirmation,  though 
grown  old  in  evil  days.  To  cure  this  disastrous  ncg'ect,  we  ordain 
that  none  be  admitted  to  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Body  and  Blood 
that  has  not  been  Conlirnied,  except  at  point  of  death,  unless  he  have 


tm' *.*'•%  .fUh  r;yiw 


r 


W 

'f, ." 


f 


!    1 


248 


AITKXDIX. 


a  reasonable  inipe(llment"|(Conslitutions,  Johnson's  Canons  |  A.C.L.  ] 
ii.,  277;   I.abbei,  xi.,  1160). 

This  Constitution  is  the  origin  of  the  rubric  after  the  Confirmation 
Service. 

F4»lirlciMllll  €oiiliiry.     A.D,  1310.     William  of  Paris. 

"  When  prayer  has  itecn  offered  over  those  who  are  to  be  confirmed, 
the  Sign  of  the  Cross  is  traced  with  chrism  on  their  foreheads  and 
hands  being  laid  upon  their  heads,  it  is  said,  '  Peace  be  with  you.' 
since  at  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Apostles  the  Holy  Spirit 
was  wont  to  be  given,  and  He  is  given  now  at  the  laying  on  of  hands 
of  the  Hishops"  (Lib.  de  Sacramenlis.  Ouotcd  in  the  notes  on  St. 
Gregory's    Sacramentary,    Opera,  Tom.   iii.,    pt.    i,  col.  351J,   Paris, 

1705). 

A.D.  1330.     James  of  Vilerbo,   Arciiliishop  of  Naples. 

Confirmation  "  was  partly  instituted  by  the  Apostles,  so  far  as  the 
laying  on  of  hands  is  concerned  ;  partly  by  the  Church,  so  far  as 
the  unction  of  chrism,  which  we  do  not  read  the  Apostles  used" 
(Hist.  Occidentalis,  cap.  37.  (Juoted  in  notes  on  .St.  Gregory,  as 
above). 

Firiooillll  ('onlliry.  A.D.  1422.  Bishop  Lyndcwode  (Pro- 
vinciale,  O.xford,  1679,  p.  34)  calls  Confirmation  "a  S  icrament  of 
necessity,  and,  therefore,  that  which  may  not  be  contemm-d." 

A.D.  1450.  Dionysius  Carthiisianus.  "  When  the  .Apostles  which 
were  at  lerusalem  heard  that  Samaria  had  received  the  word  of  God. 
Philip  sent  them  word,  asking  that  some  of  them  might  come  to 
Samaria  to  lay  hands  on  those  who  hail  been  baptized,  that  by  the 
visible  sign  tliey  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost.  For  to  liy  hands 
on  the  b.ipti/.ed  was  the  olh  :e  of  the  Apostles,  as  it  is  now  of  Hishops, 
who  are  their  successors"  (in  Acta  Apost.,  viii.,  Paris,  1=152,  fo. 
76,  fi). 

A.D.  140?.     John  Colet,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's. 

[Founder  of  St.  Paul's  School,  the  first  school  founded  in  England 
ti)  tt'dc/i  (/leri- ;  he  was  once  nearly  burned  by  Henry  \'HI.,  for  his 
reforming  tendencies.] 

"  Confirmation  is  the  Sacrament  of  the  giving  of  the  Spirit,  traced 
back  to  and  established  at  the  lime  when  one  was  sent  i)y  the  Apostles 
to  convey  to  those  who  had  alrcaiiy  been  bapii/ed  at  S.iniaiiathe  Holy 
Spirit  by  the  laying  on  of  hands  :  otherwise  they  would  not  have  been 
reckoned  as  belonging  to  the  Church"  (De  Sarramenlis  EccIesi:o, 
^9,  ed.  I.upton,  \>()7,  p.  i)2). 

"  It  is  to  be  observed  that  Dionysius  sptaks  of  Confirmation  in 


_WM*»&i:Sw.io#^j^^.^^  ,,,_^ ,^^, ,,,,.,., 


>^.fi*3ter? 


AirKXDlX. 


249 


to    be   one  and  the  saZ    Wr  '^.      "'  ''  ''  '°^  ''  ^"^  '^"P'-"^ 

^ix,o..HlMVun,n..  The  Refon.ation  upheaval, 
L'ueen  Klizabeth  was  confirmed  hv  \r,'-M  •  u'"  '/- 

days  o,d ;  i.:dwa.d  .he  s,.H  ii^vi^t;:;:  ^^  -^3:  --  •^- 

though,  thank  God    the  Ca      nna.  :"'"''  ^"«'""   ^-'^^-' 

l^ut  slight  variation  "   ^''^■^■''  ""''  ^""  retained  with 

SeeC.eorge\Vit/eI,,533),MethodusConcordir   viii  •  P 
ucuius  Rerum  Kxpetendanun.  r.ondon.  ,0,,.      ;p":'  :';  '7,V  ^•;^- 
Regia,  London,  i6,jo,  App.    p-,o  ^  '  ■' ''P>  ?•  /  ^  .>.  and  his  \  la 

l.rm  and  ,.erfe,:t  ,hat  »l,icl,  the  .;ra.  ■  „f  ,h!  J''    '""'  """"■ 

l-irnn  in  Ba,ni,„.-  „:,:cl.  Poli;.  Uk.;' .tiTr ''"'"'  ""'  ""^-"- 

I'ishop  of  Orleans.  *•  '    ''''''■     ^-'"-i^''    Albaspi„;n-s, 

the  gift  of  the  Ho^-         ;;::;;. ^-"  -"'-'^^  -d  gifed  wi.h 
Lovanii.  ,;.;„  Tom.  i  .    '^,;'  ^'    '  "'  '•^'""'  >-■  ^•■-'-  '•'-•.. 

-■'eein^Fr  .^^"^'■^' /^^^^-'^^V  ^^  i'resby.erians  (Scotland,. 

fai-eth^::  t^:  :::r^^,::::;— ^;  i'npositionof  >--  ^^y  -^^^o,. 


[Th 


(Acts  of  Ge 


n.  Ass 


A.I) 


IS  IS  a  new  departure] 


i() 


4').     IJishop  Hall,  of  X, 


also  Hamon  L'Est 


ranije. 


S'M  402,  etc 


embly,  p.  20). 

Twich.     Work,  Oxford,  i> 
iance."  A.C.L.,  Oxford, 


All 


I  ■>-!( 


P-  441. 


i''.   pp. 


\fter  the  great  rebellion  the   Hish. 


on  Confirmat 


ion. 


I>s*  \'isitat!oii   Art'cl 


es  al 


1  ri  s  1  i.  t 


A. I). 


1(1-^6. 


Hishop  I' 
I'itflileeiiili  CVIK 

and  Man. 


•arson,  I.ect, 


"n 


A.l). 


i"  A(  ta  Ai)nst. 


VIII. 


/D 


Hisho[)  Wil 


The  effect  and  blessing  of  C 


onfirmation  is  to 


mabie  blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  (iod  by 


son,  of  Sudor 


convey  the  inesti 


prayer  and  the  imposit 


ion 


i^i .  1 1 


If  * 


250 


Al'l'KXDIX. 


of  han;Is  of  G')d's  mini?lci,  tliru  He  may  dwell  in  yoii.  .  .  .  Confirma- 
tion is  the  perfection  of  Baptism.  Tlie  Holy  Cthost  descends  invisi- 
bly upon  such  as  are  rigluly  prepared  to  receive  such  a  bhssing,  as 
at  the  first  Me  came  invjvibly  upon  tlvse  that  had  been  baptixed.  Uy 
the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  God's  minister,  God  lakes,  as  it  were, 
possession  of  you  as  His  own  peculiar  rreaturr  ;  He  saiictifit-s  and 
consecrates  you  again  to  Himself."      'Sacra  Privata,  Oxford,  p.  109.) 

A.  f").  17I''.     Archbishop  Wake,  of  ''aiueibury. 

"  Does  the  liishop  give  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the  imposition  of  his 
hands  in  Confirmation  ? 

"  Tiiat  we  do  not  say,  nor  did  tlic  Apr-siles  ihcin^ielves  do  it.  They 
laid  on  their  hands,  and  G  jd  gave  the  Holy  Spirit  to  ihose  on  whom 
they  laid  them.  And  we  piously  presume  that  by  the  ftrvent  prayeis 
of  the  Hishop,  and  the  Church,  those  on  whom  he  n'>\v  lays  his  hands 
shall  also  receive  the  Huly  Ghost,  if  they  do  but  pre[>are  themselves 
for  it"  (on  Church  Catech'sm,  6th  v.],,  i~i'>J,  p.  i;^). 


Xiiii'loeiilli   Coiiliiry 


A.I).   1 


Hishop   RavL'nsrroft,   of 


Xonh  Carolina,  has  an  excellent  sermon  on  Confirmatiun  (Works,  vol. 


P-  -4';: 


New  York,  iS 


/>). 


The  view  of  the  present  Archbishop  of    Catiterbury  has  been   al- 
ready given  more  than  once;  see  p.  M'). 

As  a  view  of  the  Greek  Church,  to  a  certain  e\tent,  the  following 
short  extract  is  given  :  "  ISoth  these  mysteries  ( Baptism  and  Confir- 
mation) complete  one  perfect  whole,  and  having  been  j  )ined,  as  now, 
are  fulfdled  in  the  Church  before  the  Liturgy.  /-V///  <irt'  iJu'  door  \x\\,o 
the  Church  of  Christ  and  the  Kingdom  of  Cv:>i\,  and,  in  consetiuence, 
th 
potos,  Athens,  1869,  p.  251)). 

See  also  Mason's   "  Failh  of  the    (/O'iiel,"  published   by  Messrs. 


e  commencement  of  the  other  mysteries"  1  Ltitourgikr,  by  1\  Rhom- 


Pott  \  Cc 


chap.  IX. 


10.  ri. 


In  certain  .\riicles  on  Grace  and  Freewill,  issued  in  the  fifth  century, 
it  is  said  :  ''  Let  us  have  respect  to  the  mysteries  of  priestly  prayers, 
which  have  been  handed  down  by  the  Apo?tlcs  in  the  whole  world, 
and  are  offered  uniformly  in  every  Catholic  Church,  so  that  the  laiv 
of  prjycr  ddcrmiiiiS  the  law  cf  l>iiic/" — ut  legem  credendi  lex  statuat 
supplicandi  (Labbei,  ii.,  loiA). 

St.  Augustine  has  nearly  the  same  idea  :  "  Would  that  the  slow  of 
heart  would  so  hear,  that  they  woi.' 1  the  more  heed  their  prayers, 
which  the  Church  always  had,  and  always  will  have,  from  the  begin- 


mmmm'jHf^^fmmmmmmfim^ 


t^mxTemi^ 


AI'I'ENDIX.  ■  251 

ning  till  this  world   be  (Inished  I"  (De  Bon.  Per,  ^'  23)  -  ut  m.^ris  in 
tuerentiir  orationes  suas.  ^    ^  ^^  '" 

In  accordance  with  this  we  must  turn  to  the  special  IVayer  o'  Con 
firmat.on  an.l  see  what  we    pray   for.     It  is   L  for  any  parti  a.  la  r' 
grace.  ..    for  .race  to   keep  our  bapu.s.n.l  vows.  ,..  fo'  anyt    n" 
but    or  ,he  Holy  Spirit  Himself  in  His  sevenfold  fulness         '        "' 

Ahnighty  and  ever-living  God.  who  hast  vouchsafed  to  regenerate 
these  I  hy  servants  by  Water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  hast  gfv" 
othem  forgn-^ness  of  all  their  sins  ;  Strengthen  them,  we  b    e     ,' 
thee,  O  Lor,l.  w,th  the   Holy  Ghost  the  Comforter,  and  .iailv  increa  e 

stand  ng.  the  spirit  of  counsel   and   ghostly   strength;  the  spirit   of 

nowledge  and  true  goJI.noss  ;  and  lill  them.  O  Lo'nl,  wi.h  t  f sir 
of  Ihy  holy  fear,  now  and  forever.     .h„e„  ^ 

/  J'i7s?T  /''  ''^'^"  ""■^'■'^^  '"  '^'^  Western  Church  from  /vAw  M. 
t.on  .s  that     .mmute  :n  eos"  is  rather  paraphrased  '  strengthen  them 

In  the  Eastern  Church  the  prayer  ha.  the  same  >hou,hts  expressed 
at  much  greater  length,  as  is  their  custom.     Hut  wherever  the  Chur 
-sts  .n  the  mtegrity  of  her  ministry,  the  ConHrmation  p     yer  " 
ta.ns  (,.)  a    thanksgiving   for    regeneration    and    forgiven//     ;0  ,7  .■ 
,-.«Av/.  and  (ii.)  a  prayer  fur  the  Holy  Spirit  ' 

aborthe"'!;    ''''''"'■,  "''^''    ''''"'''   --^g-'^te    modern    mistakes 
^0 ^deprr,::^'  ^'"'  ''''-'  -'"'  ''-'  °^  ^"-'^-"-'°"  '^  -ch 


APPENDIX    XX.     PAGE   2or. 


On  the  (luestir)n  of  the  Inv 


ocationof  the  Holy  Spirit  in  'he  Con.c 


mg  ;i:l^''  ""'  '"'"^'^'-  ^^^^■^"-  -'^  '^  --'e  to    the  foll.w. 
Le  Hrun    E.xplication  de  la  Messe,  Pa.is,    ,72^  Tom   iii      ^    .,. 
and     S  "T""  "^""  ''■'"  "f  '*'^  -^^-^"'^  Hougeant.'p.r'i.;  ■,:.:• 

ol    cL  UC  ''•  '^'7-  '''^'''''  ''  '  — t'sentiment     ur'-la 

lorme  de  la  Consecration,   Paris    i-  — 

Bishop    Hrett    (the     Non-juror',,  "a     Collection    of    ,he    Principal 
I-'ti.rg'e.s.  eu-  .  London,  i;..,    Dissertation  ,^    p    ,-..  ^  ' 

^^S,r  William   Palmer,  o.gines  Liturgic,..,   u,.    n./p.   ,,,,.,.,  ,,h 


■■«'*»;#  .-^ 


***WPil«KK.«ltj»k 


2^2 


AI'I'ENDIX, 


Freeman.  ''  I'finciples  of  Divine  Service,  "  pt.  2,  chap,  i.,  ^  ii, 
p.   ]>)('■ 

I'hi*  most  complete  appeal  for  the  revival  of  the  Invocation  is 
"  i'rimitive  Consecration  of  the  Eiicharistic  Oblation,"  by  Rev.  K.  S. 
I'fmilkts,  London,  1S85. 


A1'IM;\1)IX   00.     P.VGE    2U4. 

It  will  he  olijcctcd  that  only  a  small  part  of  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  has  here  been  treated  of.  This  is  (juite  true.  The  Mission  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Comforter,  is  intermediate  between  the  Advent 
of  the  Son  in  His  Incarnation  to  redeem  the  world,  and  His  second 
.•\dvent  to  judge  and  condemn.  It  is  the  worlc  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
complete  the  first,  and  to  prepare  for  the  second.  It  has  been  (rightly 
(jr  wrongly)  thought  that  it  is  beyond  the  scope  of  these  lectures  to  do 
more  than  refer  thus  to  the  work  of  preparation  for  the  judgment. 
I'or  after  all,  the  chief  part  of  the  work  of  preparation  is  the  com- 
pletion of  the  previous  work  of  the  Incarnate  Son. 


*>'-!*i^h'.^/fsi^S!Lj^:1\  ».v  ... 


■>  ,>  ir, 
ition    is 

V.  !•:.  S. 


;   Holy 
sion  of 
Advent 
second 
pirit  to 
rightly 
3  to  do 
tment. 
'.'om- 


